Nashville Star
by sweetness2noend
Summary: An all human story about Bella and Alice persuing their dreams of becoming famous in Nashville, TN. Along the way they find something they never expected- love, but what are the consequences? I'm not good at summaries, just please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Leave the pieces**

"Bella get up! We are already running behind schedule!" Alice sang excitedly as she pranced into my room.

"I'm getting up, I'm getting up," I said as I rolled back over and punched my snooze one more time.

"I mean NOW!" I heard as my covers were violently yanked off of me.

"OK! I'M UP! GEEZ," I said as I slowly rolled out of bed.

"Bella you would think that you would be a little more excited, this is the day we have been dreaming about for years!" Alice said with her tiny hands placed on her hips.

"Yeah I know, I am excited, I would just be a little bit more excited if it were about four hours later." Alice knew I was as far from a morning person as you could get. She rolled her eyes and chunked my hairbrush at me.

"Well the time is now, my dear friend. Get ready and meet me downstairs, Charlie is waiting on us to take us to the airport." Alice said as she skipped down the stairs. How she can possibly be so chipper all the time baffles me. Sure, I was beyond excited that I was about to start this new journey through life with my best friend, but come on… it's only 6 am!

As I walked down the stairs, I saw my dad Charlie standing there. "Bout time Bells, I should have known you were going to run late."

"That's why you love me." I said as I placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Well come on. We need to get to that airport soon and you know how traffic is in Seattle." Charlie said as he picked up our bags and headed to the car. Charlie hated traffic, which I guess is one reason why he wanted to live in Forks. The only traffic problem we ever had was if an animal escaped from a pasture. Ah, the quaint city of Forks. Sure, I would miss it, but I have always seen myself as being a city girl. I was never much for playing outside or getting dirty, I'd much rather curl up in front of a fireplace and read a nice book. But Charlie on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the outdoors and quiet streets. I think this boring town is the one thing that drove my mother away so many years ago. I guess I'm a little like her in a sense, ready for something bigger in life than going fishing every weekend on my dad's old bass boat.

We finally made it to the Seattle airport 3 hours later just in time to board our plane to Nashville. I gave my dad a big hug and thought I saw a small tear forming in the corner of his eye.

"Ok Bells, you know I love you more than you could ever imagine. Take care of yourself down there. Alice, I trust you to watch over her, and I know you will. And you both stay away from boys, all they are is trouble." He said as he returned a bear hug, one for me, and one for Alice. I felt kind of bad for leaving Charlie all alone to fend for his self. I would be 2,500 miles away from him, by far the longest I have ever been away from him in my entire life. But, he reassured me that he would be fine and that he trusted me to do the right things, so I felt a little better about chasing after my dream.

"Ok Dad," we both said in unison. Although Charlie wasn't Alice's dad, we had been best friends since we were 7, and she was just as much a part of the family as I was. Alice was right, this was the day that we had been dreaming about for years. Our whole lives we had always been told we could sing. Alice and I met each other in school choir in second grade and had been best friends ever since. We had both loved music more than anything else, and we couldn't think of anything else in the world we would rather do with the rest of our lives than sing. After we graduated high school, I told Charlie that Alice and I wanted to move to Nashville to try and become a star. He of course went absolutely berserk and made me promise that I would at least try college out for a few years before doing anything drastic. After just graduating from a local community college with an Associate's degree in Business, he finally gave me the ok to go ahead with our plans.

Sitting on the plane going from Seattle to Nashville, all Alice and I could talk about was what lies ahead. "I just never thought this day would come!" Alice said as happy as she could be.

"I know… me neither, considering we have been talking about this since 7th grade. I never really thought that we would go through with it, but we did." I said proudly. I was proud that Alice and I were finally doing this. We were finally taking those first steps to growing up; living on our own, in a city we had never been to. I admit, I was a little scared to be so far away from home. I had never in my life been this far away from home. I know that there would be no way I could have ever even imagined doing all of this without Alice. There was no one else in the world that could be a better friend, and I was extremely excited that we were pursuing our dreams together.

As we walked out of the Nashville Airport, I couldn't be more excited. We called for a taxi to take us to our new apartment. We had to decide on an apartment before we moved, so we had only seen it online. When we got there we couldn't believe our eyes. It was way better in person! As we walked in to the open living and kitchen area, all of our things had already arrived and were in place. This couldn't be more perfect.

"Ok so I say we tear open our suit cases and find those swim suits! I have been dreaming of that pool for months now!" Alice practically screamed. It was nice to be able to go swimming in September. Being from Washington, we didn't have very much of an opportunity to lay by the pool.

As we made our way into the pool area, we couldn't help but notice the most beautiful girl we had ever seen tanning by the pool. She was the perfect size, had the perfect face, and the perfect blond hair… just the type of girl I usually couldn't stand. We passed through a heavy iron gate and let it slam shut behind us.

"Could you please be quite, some of us are trying to nap." The perfect girl snapped.

"Sorry, we are new here. What's your name?" Alice said nicely. Most of the time Alice was too friendly for her own good, but that's why I loved her so dearly.

"Rosalie, but please don't talk to me, I have better things to do."

"Wow what a bitch," I whispered to Alice.

"I know" Alice said sadly, "I hope everyone from Nashville doesn't act like that."

After we had lain by the pool for an hour, we decided we should go back inside. We were not used to all this sun, and being sun burnt for our first performance would not be fun.

"Ok so we have to be at the Honky Tonk by 9:15" I said to Alice.

"Ok. Gosh Bella I cannot believe we are finally doing this! Let's practice some just to make sure we are good and prepared." But just before we started to practice, someone knocked at the door.

"Who could that be? We don't know anyone yet" questioned Alice.

"I don't know, answer it." As Alice opened the door, a man was standing there with a clip board and some keys in his hand.

"Hello ladies," the older man said. "My name is Bert and I'm a car salesman from down the street. A man by the name of Charlie asked me to come by and drop off these keys to a 2004 Toyota 4Runner to a Bella and Alice. Is that y'all?" the old man said with a long southern drawl. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Charlie bought us a car! There is no telling what he paid for that. My dad was the greatest.

"Yes that's us!" Alice said as she was jumped up and down.

"Ok ma'am. Just sign right here and here are the keys!" the man said excitedly.

"Oh my goodness Bella, a car! A 4runner! I can't believe it! Now we don't have to call a taxi, this is awesome!" I agreed with Alice. It was beyond awesome. My dad always knew just what to do to brighten my day.

It was 9 and we were leaving our apartment for our first gig in Nashville.

"Alice are you sure I look ok? I'm not used to all of this makeup, and I'm definitely not used to wearing a dress, or cowboy boots." I said looking down. I must admit, I was a little insecure with my plain Jane looks.

"Bella, I'm not even going to answer that question. You always look amazing! And besides, this is our first night in Nashville! Live a little!"

"You're right. Let's go!" We pulled into the parking lot of the Honky Tonk and there were only 3 other cars there.

"Well this looks promising," I said sarcastically to Alice.

"Bella we still have 45 minutes till we go on, I'm sure it will be packed by then." Alice is always so hopeful. I parked our wonderful new SUV and looked at Alice.

"I….I… I don't know if I can go through with this Al"

"Bella, you KNOW that we can do this, we've done it a thousand times before,"

"I know but that was in front of people we know, this is all strangers and possibly even an agent… we could blow it all in one night," I wined to Alice.

"Even if we do blow it tonight, which we won't, there is way more than one agent in town. Now come on Bella, get your ass outta the car." Alice said as she opened her door. She was right, what was I so worried about? I had sung in front of audiences almost every weekend while we were in college and I was never nervous. I finally got out of the car and we made our way into the bar with our guitars in hand.

"Alright are y'all the Vixen Sistas?" A man in a cowboy hat asked us at the entrance.

"Uhh nope… we're Alice and Bella," I wearily replied.

"Oh… alrighty then, well I guess they ain't gonna show up. That means y'all are next. You're up in ten. Oh, and be sure to sing y'all's pretty little hearts out, there's an agent sittin' at the bar," The extremely country man said. I was going to have to get used to this southern slang.

"Ok Bella don't freak out. We're going to do this and we are going to be awesome!" Alice yelped.

"Ok, deep breaths, long deep breaths" I kept saying to myself. Before I knew it, the ten minutes were up and we were walking on stage. I had pretty bad stage fright when Alice and I first started singing together in some bars back in Washington. I had worked up a little bit of immunity to it, but that was all downhill now. This was Nashville, they don't play around. Either you're good or you're bad, and we were about to find out.

I hadn't noticed but there were a few more people in the crowd now that it was a little later. As I stood there, I couldn't help but look around in the audience while Alice was setting up our guitars. There was an older trashy looking couple going at it in the back corner, a few heavy set girls with entirely too much makeup and hairspray in the middle, an awkward looking man sitting at the bar talking on his cell (the agent, I assumed) and then a table of 3 guys near the front, who were all very nice looking. Especially one of them, he had bronze spiked hair and the loveliest face I had even seen. I couldn't take my eyes off of him.

"Ok Bells, I'm ready when you are!" Alice whispered excitedly into my ear.

"What? Oh… sorry, yeah… yeah, I'm ready." Next thing I knew, Alice started playing, and I began to strum along. I stepped up to the mike and started to sing.

_"You're not sure that you love me_

_But you're not sure enough to let me go_

_Baby it ain't fair_

_You know to just keep me hanging 'round…"_

As I nervously began to sing, I heard someone yelling from the front table. "ALLL right, baby! Sing it to me. You sound good sugar, damn you look good too!" Screamed the tall one in the middle.

I tried my best to block him out, but the bar was pretty small and they were right in front of us. I just pasted my eyes to the back wall. Maybe that would help me concentrate.

"Oh come out sweetheart… show us some sexy moves!" he screamed again. Guess this guy wasn't going to stop. Finally the song was finished. Other than the guy screaming, it went pretty well. I was proud, I had to admit. As we were walking down the steps to get off the stage, I saw someone walking towards us.

"Excuse me miss, I just wanted to come over and apologize for my brothers screaming. He's a little drunk, and isn't very good at containing himself. I truly hope it didn't hinder your performance. You were both great by the way." Said the outrageously beautiful man that I couldn't take my eyes off of.

"Oh… no, it's…its fine" I managed to spill out with a stupid grin on my face. All he did was give me the sexiest crooked smile I had ever seen and walk off. I could feel all of the heat rush to my cheeks and knew I was blushing all over.

"Dude we have got to go now. If we don't get him back to Rose sober by midnight, our ass is grass," said the smaller one holding the tall drunk one up.

"I know, I'm coming. I do have to be at work in a soon anyway," the gorgeous one said back. And with that, they were gone. Maybe I would see him again one day. At least I knew who I would be dreaming about.

"Oh my goodness Bella that guy was absolutely gorgeous! In fact, they were all gorgeous! And we did great!" Alice blurted into my ear.

"Yeah I know, I'm so glad we're here Alice!" I said as I gave my best friend a hug. As we were walking back to our 4runner,I couldn't help but be a little giddy. We had survived our first performance in Nashville, and saw some gorgeous guys while we were at it. Man, life was good.

On the drive home, Alice of course could not stop talking about the night.

"I wonder if that agent will contact us? Oh my goodness Bella would that not be amazing or what! Gah I feel like I just had the best sex of my life!"

"Whoa Al, the night was great, but I wouldn't take it that far" I said sassily back.

"Yeah I guess you're right" she said with a huge smile on her face. I turned up the stereo almost as loud as it could go. Alice and I were singing our favorite songs at the top of our lungs and dancing to the beat.

"Damn girl where'd you get them moves?" I said mocking a guy.

"Oh if you think this is good, just wait till later!" Alice laughed back.

"Slut!" I screamed back at her.

"Oh you're just jealous cause you don't have my sexy moves!"

"Hmm maybe you're ri.."

I was abruptly interrupted by screeching tires and bright lights coming quickly towards us. I just closed my eyes and kept my hands firm against the steering wheel as I feared for mine and my best friend's life.

**A/N: Please let me know what you think! And thanks to my amazing beta, Red on the Head00!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Luckiest

**Chapter 2: ****The Luckiest**

As I opened my eyes, all I saw was a very bright light and the face of an angel.

"Isabella, it is so nice to see you awake!" said the beautiful man with a crooked smile. It was him, the gorgeous one from the bar. Why is he here?

"Wha... What happened?" I questioned.

"Last night you were in a head on collision with a drunk driver. Your car spun and hit a tree on your side of the car. You hit your head on the side of the window and suffered from a pretty bad concussion, but I consider you lucky. If you weren't wearing your seatbelt, you might have died."

"Where's Alice? Is she ok?" I said frantically.

"Alice is fine; she just has a few scratches and bruises from the airbag. She just went downstairs to speak with your dad I believe. She will be right up, no worries." It was hard to worry about anything while talking to him.

"Ok, I'm so glad she is ok. What about my new car? My dad is going to kill me… had it for less than 24 hours and already wrecked it." I said sadly.

"Well I think it had to be towed away, but I think they said it could be fixed within a few weeks. Now you be sure and relax Isabella, and I will be back in a little while to see how you're feeling," he said comfortingly.

"Ok. Thank you for being so caring, and it's just Bella by the way." I said smiling. I don't think I could help smiling while talking to him. I didn't want him to leave.

"Ok Bella, and forgive me for not introducing myself, I'm Edward Cullen. I believe I spoke to you last night at the bar about my idiotic brother and his untamed mouth. Anyway, nice to formally meet you, other than the circumstances. And don't worry, everything will be fine and I will be back as soon as possible to see when you can be released. I know hospitals are no fun." He said as he started to walk out of the room. Well, I did get to see him again… just wish it wasn't while I looked a mess lying in a hospital gown. This was just my luck.

A few minutes passed and Alice ran into the room.

"Oh my goodness Bella I'm so glad you are awake! I just had to talk Dad outta coming down here. I told him you were fine but I don't think he is going to believe it till he sees your face and hears your voice. Anyway, Dr. Cullen told me you had just waked and I ran in as fast as I could."

"He's a doctor? I thought he was just a nurse? He's kinda young isn't he?" I asked Alice.

"Well Bella I haven't given it that much thought, I have been so worried about you." She said sadly. "Bella it was so scary. You were just laying there not moving and not awake, I thought you were dead. Please don't ever scare me like that again!"

"Well I don't plan on it, but you know me," I said jokingly. "So how long was I asleep for?"

"Well its 8:30 p.m. now, so for about 20 hours. You knocked your head pretty bad Bells."

"Wow, and you have been here the whole time! Alice you didn't have to do that!"

"Are you kidding me? Of course I did, you are like my sister Bella, and I could never leave you like this, even though Dr. Cullen has been in here to check on you about 100 times. He insisted that he sit with you while I went to speak with your dad. I think he might have a crush on you Bells!" she said excitedly.

"Hmm. Well thank you Alice so much for staying here with me. And there is no way that beautiful man has a crush on me, he must just feel sorry for me. When do you think we can get out of here?"

"Soon I think, Dr. Cullen said it shouldn't be too much longer, he just needs to be sure you are ok." She said smiling.

"So has he been my only doctor the whole time? I mean, he didn't like see me naked or anything, did he?"

"Umm well I'm not sure. When we first got here they had to check me out too, so I couldn't really see what was going on with you, sorry." She said looking down. We heard a knock on the door and he walked back in.

"Well it looks like you are going to have to stay for a few more hours until we get some test results back. I'm sorry Bella." Dr. Cullen said sadly.

"Oh, ok." I said nervously. That seemed to be all that I could manage to get out. He mesmerized me. He was standing there looking like he was about to say something and his beeper went off.

"Well there is an emergency, but I will be back as soon as possible to check on you. Let me know if there is anything I can get you." He said innocently. "Alice you can go home if you'd like, I can keep an eye on Bella and she can call you when it is time for her to leave. You look extremely tired."

"Oh, well I could never leave Bella, but thank you for being so kind." She said reassuringly. He nodded his sexy little head and ran out of the room.

"Alice you really can leave, I'm tired and will just be sleeping so there is no point in you even being here. Besides, our wonderful new apartment hasn't been slept in yet, and I can hear it calling your name." I said as I smiled and nudged her elbow with my arm.

"Ok Bella, if you insist. But you better call me as soon as you find out when you can leave. I put your cell in the drawer of the nightstand." She said as she pointed to the stand.

"Ok Alice. Thank you so much for everything. See you in a little while." Alice gave me a hug and left the room. Not even five minutes after she left, I had fallen back asleep.

I was having a weird dream. Dr. Cullen and I were driving in a car along a beautiful country-side. It was near twilight and the rolling hills were gorgeous. We were talking about music when all of the sudden our car was hit and was spinning out of control. Dr. Cullen wasn't wearing his seat belt and was ejected from the car. I ran over to him while screaming his name and he didn't respond. When I woke up, I saw that beautiful face again.

"Bella, are you alright? We could hear you screaming down the hall." He said worried.

"I was screaming?" Oh no, I must have been talking in my sleep again. "What exactly was I screaming?"

"Umm well you were screaming Dr. Cullen wake up," he said shyly. Great.

"Oh" I said embarrassed. "Sorry, I was having a dream about a wreck and..."

"Bella, its ok. I know you have been through a lot recently. Anyway, your test result are back and they turned out fine, you can go home now." He said as he patted my back.

"Ok, thank you so much. Is it ok if I use my cell in here? I need to call Alice," I said as I picked up my phone.

"Actually Bella, my shift is over in 5 minutes, I would be glad to drop you off to save you the trouble and everything," he said smoothly.

"Oh, no, I could never ask you to do that! You have been generous enough Dr. Cullen."

"Bella I insist. I told Alice I would take care of you, and it is no problem at all. And it's Edward, by the way." He said again with that crooked smile that made me melt. How could a girl say no to that?

"Oh, ok. If you insist," I said smiling.

"You can change in the bathroom and I will be right back to get you." He winked at me and walked out of the room. Ok Bella, no need to freak out, he is just an extremely nice person who is absolutely breathtaking and is also the youngest doctor I had ever seen. No reason to be nervous, right? Yeah. Right. I changed back into the clothes I wore the night before and walked out of the bathroom. Dr. Cullen, I mean, Edward, was waiting for me, looking as tempting as could be.

"Ok Bella, you ready?"

"Couldn't be more," I said with a smile on my face. We made our way to the elevator in total silence. We got off the elevator and walked to the parking lot. Edward was walking a little bit ahead of me since I had no idea what kind of car he drove. He walked over to the most amazing car I had ever seen. Surely this was not his car.

"Is this your car?" I said in amazement.

"Yeah, graduation present from the parents," he said as he opened my door to the black Bentley.

"Wow, all I got was a laptop" I said sarcastically. He looked at me and smiled as he started the engine. We drove in silence for a few miles then I decided to start asking questions.

"So, were both of those guys with you last night your brothers?"

"Well actually, the loud one is technically my cousin, but his parents passed away when he was 12, and my parents decided to adopt him. The shorter one is my full brother. He is 3 years younger than me."

"Oh, ok. What are their names?" I said, trying to keep up the convo.

"The big one is Emmett, the smaller one is Jasper. Emmett is way better when he is sober, I promise. Sometimes he just doesn't know when to stop though." He stated.

"Oh ok. So how old are you? If you don't mind me asking," I said shyly.

"I'm 24."

"How are you only 24 and a doctor? Don't doctors go to school for eight years?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, well I actually graduated high school when I was 16" he said softly. Wow. He was extremely smart too. No man should be this perfect.

"Oh, wow that must have been tough." I said seriously.

"Nah not too bad just took a few summer classes, nothing too harsh." I hadn't even noticed that we were pulling up to my apartment complex.

"How did you know where I lived?" I asked.

"Well your address was on your chart, plus Emmett's fiancé Rosalie lives here too, so I knew where it was."

"Does his girlfriend happen to be blond and extremely gorgeous?" I asked.

"Yep," Hmm. It had to be the bitch from the pool. There can't be that many gorgeous blonds names Rosalie that live in the same complex as Alice and I.

"Do you know her or something?" he asked me.

"Well me and Alice just ran into her at the pool yesterday."

"Oh ok, hope she wasn't too much of a bitch to y'all." He said smiling. I just laughed. Didn't want to make the situation awkward by calling his adopted brother's fiancé a bitch, even though she was.

"Well I enjoyed our conversation Bella, and take it easy for a few days, will ya?"

"Ok, I will, and thank you so much Edward, for everything," I said as I opened my door to get out of the car.

"Actually Bella, I wanted to ask you one last thing."

"Ok, let's hear it." I said ducking my head back into his beautiful car.

"Well I don't do this much, but how would you like to… to go on a date with me?" he said as he was running his fingers through his hair nervously. There was absolutely no reason for this boy to be nervous. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This gorgeous guy wanted to go on a date, with me. There must be something in this Nashville water. I tried to open my mouth, but nothing came out, so I just nodded my head.

"Ok great!" he said with a huge smile on his face. "I will call you with details tomorrow."

"Wait, you have my number?"

"Oh, yeah, well when it was on your chart too." He said looking down.

"Oh, ok. Well I guess I will talk to you tomorrow then." I said hopefully.

"Talk to you then Bella, and try not to get in any more car wrecks before then."

"I won't." I said as I shut the door. I walked up to our door and just stood there for a minute. I was going on a date with Edward Cullen. How could such a horrible accident turn into something good? Maybe everything does happen for a reason. I could at least tell myself that, for now.

I woke up the next day with a smile on my face. Today Edward was supposed to call me with plans about our date. I was overjoyed, but didn't want to get my hopes up too high. After all, I had only just met the man.

"Bella are you up yet?" Alice asked from the other side of my bedroom door.

"Yeah I'm up, you can come in if you'd like." Alice came in and sat at the foot of my bed. She had already taken a shower and looked like she was ready to go somewhere.

"Why are you dressed and ready this early in the morning?" I asked her.

"Well, number one, it's almost 10 o'clock, which is not early, and number two, we are going shopping!" she said as she was bouncing up and down on my bed. All I did was give her the death stare that she hated so much.

"Bella, I know you don't like shopping that much, but this isn't for clothes, we need to get some stuff to decorate our apartment. It's looking a little drab and I can't handle drab!"

"But Alice we don't have a car, remember? It's going to be extremely expensive for a cab to take us shopping." I said matter-of-factly.

"True, but remember Rosalie, that bitch we met at the pool?"

"Yeah…and?" I said with a confused look on my face.

"Well, it turns out that her fiancé is Dr. Cullen's brother and he told her about our wreck and she came over this morning to apologize for being a bitch and offered to take us shopping to make up for it!"

"Hmm. Well, ok, I guess we could use a few decorations in here." I said back to her.

"Yay! Ok, you need to shower and get dressed, she will be here to pick us up in 45 minutes!" Alice said as happy as she could be. The 45 minutes had soon passed and Rosalie was knocking on our door. Alice got up from our couch and answered the door as quickly as she could.

"Hey guys!" Rosalie said nicely" Are you ready to go!"

"Couldn't be more," Alice sang back to her. We made our way out of the door and down the stairs. Dad made us get an apartment on the 2nd floor because "Robbers are more likely to break into the 1st story apartments". It sucked having a cop for a dad sometimes, but I knew he was just trying to protect us. Rosalie walked over to a cute red convertible BMW and unlocked it.

"Wow nice car!" I told Rose as she was starting the engine.

"Thanks! Emmett gave it to me for our 3rd year anniversary. I told him it was way too much and it took me a long time to accept it, but he told me that I deserved it and he does make a lot of money so I eventually got over it!"

"Wow," was all that I could say again. "If you don't mind me asking, what does Emmett do?"

"He's a lineman for the Tennessee Titans. That's how we met. I was a cheerleader for the Titans and the first time I saw him was at a game when he ended up on top of me after a play. I must say that I was not impressed to being with. I was pretty disgusted with him in fact. He was sweaty and gross and he just laid there on top of me for what felt like the longest time. It was really uncomfortable and I had to eventually push him off of me. It was really humiliating to me because it was on TV and of course they did a close up of the incident. After that game he would wave to me every time that he saw me, and eventually he asked me out. At first I said no, but there are only so many times you can say no to that face of his." She said as she turned into the shopping center. "Anyway, that was a little over 4 years ago, and he we are, getting married in March! I guess you could say it was fate."

"Well you sound like a very lucky girl." I said to her as we were getting out of the car.

"Yes, much luckier than I could have ever imagined." She said with the biggest smile on her face. I hope that one day I could become that lucky. Rosalie's story sounded like it could be from a fairytale. I didn't necessarily need that fairytale kind of story, I just wanted love. True love. The kind that overtook your soul, your every being. Someone that I could not live without. Sure I had had plenty of boyfriends back home, but no of them made me feel that way, and I was not one for settling. I wanted it all or nothing, and if it meant that I would be single for the rest of my life, I would be ok with that. We shopped for what seemed like an eternity, and eventually decided to stop and grab a quick bite to eat at local café.

As we were sitting there eating, Alice decided to start talking about Edward. I hadn't told Alice yet that he had asked me on a date, mainly because I knew how much of a big deal she would make it and I wanted to avoid that attention for as long as possible. That reminded me though, Edward was supposed to call me sometime today with plans about our date. I looked down at my phone to see if I had any missed calls. Nope. And it was almost 8 o'clock at night. Maybe he was just really busy; I mean he is a doctor. I was zoning in and out of the conversation that we were all having over dinner, all I could think about was why Edward hadn't called yet.

"Bella? Earth to Bella!" Alice said as she was waving her hands in front of my face.

"Oh, sorry, yeah?"

"I was just asking you how you liked Nashville so far," Rosalie said.

"Oh, I love it! It's so different from Washington, but in a good way. I just have to get used to all this sunlight and southern accents!" I said as happy as I could at the moment.

"I totally understand, I'm originally from New York, but I have lived here for almost 5 years now so I have gotten used to it!"

"Well ladies, are we all done and ready to go?" Rosalie asked while looking at her iPhone.

"Yeah, I didn't realize how late it had gotten! Time flies when you are having fun!" Alice said as we stood up to leave. We arrived back at our apartment around 9 and Edward had still not called.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Alice asked me as we were walking in our front door with our 12, yes 12, shopping bags from the days shopping adventure.

"I'm just a little tired, shopping wears me out ya know." I said reassuring her that I was ok. "I think I'm just going to go ahead and hit the sack."

"Ok, well goodnight Bells."

"G'Night" Alice knew me better than to know that that was not my only problem. Sure I was tired but that wasn't the reason I was so down. I should have known not to get my hopes up too high about Edward. He was just too good to be true, especially for someone like me. I put on my pj's and crawled into bed, setting my phone on my nightstand, just in case he decided to call a little later. After staying awake for as long as I could, I eventually rolled over and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3: Misery Business

**Chapter 3**

It had been 3 weeks and still no call. I guess you could say I had given up. I eventually told Alice why I was so down and of course she had to tell Rose. We had become pretty close to Rosalie over the past few weeks which was surprising to me. After we first met her at the pool that day, I would have never bet that we would become friends. She later explained to us that she was having a bad day that day and she thought we were the kind of girls that didn't have respect for other people and that's why she was so rude. It made sense, and we had put all of that behind us now.

It was now October and Rosalie could not stop talking about Halloween. It was apparently her favorite holiday and she and Emmett were planning a huge party at Emmett's place. All her and Alice have been doing this past week is plan for the party. I mean don't get me wrong, I love parties, but planning them doesn't seem like too much fun for me so I just decided that they could do all of the planning and I would bake some things for the party. I had gotten pretty good at baking, and I wanted to attempt to make a really cool Halloween cake.

Alice and I had had a few more gigs here and there, but still no call from an agent. We were both running low on money, and we decided that we needed to at least find a part time job for the time being so that we could get off our lazy asses and actually do something productive for a change.

Alice got a job as a stylist at a local salon down the road from our apartment. She was so talented at doing other people's makeup and she had her cosmetology certificate so they hired her on the spot. I however, was not so quick to find a job. Rosalie told me that I could work for her at her store (she owned a cute boutique downtown) but I nicely turned her down. Working for friends never turned out well. I was getting pretty desperate for a job, and one day I walked past the bakery, Sugar, and they had a sign in the window that said they were hiring. I filled out an application and had an interview on the spot. They asked me if I had any experience and I told them I had no professional experience but I had been baking since I was 8. They decided to do a "trial hire" to see how well I could keep up. Today was my first day and I could not be any more excited!

It was 8 o'clock in the morning when I went to the kitchen to fix me some coffee.

"Whoa, I think I need to take a picture. I haven't seen you up this early since high school!" Alice said playfully.

"Yeah I know, right?" I said jokingly. "Today is my first day at Sugar and I don't want to be late! I have to be there by 9."

"Oh yeah! I'm so glad you got a job there, I really think you are going to be great at it!"

"Thanks Al! I'm not sure what time I will be getting off, do you know what time you will be home? I was thinking us and Rose could go out later tonight for some drinks!" I asked Alice as she was walking into the living room.

"I should be home no later than 6; I will ask Rose when she comes to get me if she wants to come with us! I'm sure she will." She replied back to me.

Alice had been riding to work with Rosalie because Rose's store was close to the salon Alice worked in. We just got the 4runner back yesterday, but now that I had a job too, Alice still needed to ride with Rose.

"Ok sounds good Al, just text me with details later and I will try and find out what time I should be getting off!" I said to her as I was walking toward the door to leave. Although we only lived about 15 minutes from downtown, I wanted to be sure that I was going to be early. I didn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

I arrived at the bakery around 8:40 and luckily the owner was already there. I decided to go ahead and go inside early so I could start learning what I needed to know first off. The owner's name was Rachel and she is extremely sweet and southern.

"Oh well good morning, Isabella! I'm sure glad you got here early this morning, you have got a lot to learn darlin'!"

"Good morning to you as well! I'm so excited to get started, what would you like for me to do first?" I asked her as politely as possible.

"Well first you can start by familiarizing yourself with our recipes, they are in that book on the counter" she said as she pointed. The book looked like it had about 1000 recipes in it. I really hope this woman was patient, because it was going to take a while to memorize all of these.

I had been looking over the book for about an hour and Rachel decided to teach me how to use to register.

"We try to keep it simple here dear, all of our prices and specials are right here on this dry erase board but you will have 'em all memorized soon enough. All you have to do is punch in the price of each item and write them down on these receipts. We stay pretty busy till about 12, so just stay on the register this morning and let me know if you need any help. Jessica should be here any time now to help me out with the bakin' and then it will be time to open!" she said as she had flour all over her apron.

Five minutes later a cute dirty blonde haired girl, Jessica I presumed, walked in the store apologizing to Rachel.

"Miss Rachel I am so sorry I'm late! My alarm clock didn't go off this morning!" she said with a sad look on her face.

"Well I think it's time you bought a new alarm clock, since this happens once a week young lady," Rachel said sternly.

"Yes ma'am," was all that she replied back. Before I knew it, it was time to open. Surprisingly there were a few people waiting outside for us to open. They all piled in at once and formed a line. I didn't really have time to look at the customers, I was too busy looking up the prices and writing what items they needed on the receipts. I could not even tell you how many people I had rung up in the last 30 minutes, I was not expecting for us to be this busy.

"Bella?" A soothing voice said to me from the other side of the register. As I looked up, I saw that beautiful face of an angel. But this time, I wasn't very pleased to see him. He had stood me up, and I was not very happy about it. I had just finally stopped thinking about him all the time and there he was standing in front of me my first day on the job. Just. My. Luck.

"Uh…hi," was all I managed to get out.

"I, um, didn't know that you worked here," he said like he was asking a question.

"Well actually today is my first day. What can I do for you?" I said as professional as possible.

"You could accept my apology for not ever calling you for our date."

"I meant from the bakery." I shot back at him. I was pissed and I didn't care if I was coming off as a bitch.

"Bella, I know I don't deserve it, but please let me make it up to you. Come to Café Palma with me tomorrow night, I will pick you up at 7." He didn't even give me time to respond, he just turned around and walked out. What made him think that I would agree? I should just let him stand there tomorrow night knocking on my door. All I knew was, he better have a good excuse as to why he never called. I would go with him tomorrow, but that would be his last chance, if he didn't show up then, there would be no more Edward Cullen.

_ Hey Bells. I talked to Rose and she wants to go to Eclipse bar tonight at 7. Just get there as soon as you can and we will be waiting on you. Loves, Al_

It was finally 12:30 and the bakery had finally slowed down some. I was starving and went to the back to grab my lunch. Jessica was sitting at the table in the back room.

"Oh hi!" she said nicely, "You must be Bella! I'm Jessica, sorry I couldn't introduce myself earlier, but I was running late as you could probably tell."

"Oh, yeah. It's fine, nice to meet you too!" I said as I stuck out my hand to shake hers.

"You will get used to it being so busy in the morning; it doesn't take long to get the hang of things around here." She said to me as she was texting on her phone and eating her turkey sandwich.

"Yeah I hope so," I said as I was eating my chicken wrap. "I usually catch onto things pretty quickly. How long have you been working here?"

"Almost two years, my grandparents and Miss Rachel are great friends so that's how I got the job. I don't think she likes me too much but she just doesn't have the heart to fire me."

"Huh, well I'm sure she likes you fine." I said back to her, I didn't really know what else to say to that. After we had the awkward "nice to meet you" conversation it was time to go back to work. Miss Rachel had shown me a few baking tips and I asked her to help me make a Halloween cake for Rosalie's party. She seemed very eager to help and I was very relieved. The rest of the day went by pretty quickly and before I knew it was time to meet Rose and Al at the bar downtown. I had gotten there a little late so they were already inside waiting for me.

"Hey guys!" I said as I went for the empty chair between them.

"Hey Bells! How was your first day?" Alice asked me enthusiastically.

"It actually went pretty well, I think the owner really likes me, so that's good, and the other girl that works there seems nice too." I replied back.

"Any cute guys come in today?" Rose asked.

"Well, actually, Edward came in and..."

"Wait, Edward Cullen?" Alice and Rose both said at the same time.

"Yeah and he asked me on a date and..."

"What did you say to him?" Alice said as she interrupted me.

"Well if you would give me a damn minute to talk I would tell you!" They just stared back silently and let me finish. I cleared my throat before I began.

"Thank you. As I was saying… he first apologized for not ever calling me and he asked me to go out to eat tomorrow and he is picking me up at 7 and that was about the extent of our conversation."

"Did he give you an excuse?" Rose asked me as she was stirring her Cosmopolitan.

"Um, well, no? He didn't even really ask me to go with him tomorrow either, he just sort of, insisted it?" I said in question form because I wasn't really sure how to explain our strange encounter that occurred earlier.

"Well all I know is he better damn well have a good one, I know him pretty well and it's not like him to be impolite. Although I do not think I have heard of him going on any dates and I know he hasn't had a girlfriend since him and Tania broke up two years ago." Rose told me "So maybe he was just nervous or something, but don't worry Bella, me and Alice will make sure that he will regret not calling you sooner." She said as she looked over at Alice. Oh no, this was going to be bad.

"Guys, you really do not have to do that," I said politely, hoping that they we not going to play makeover Bella, because I really did not like it.

"Bella, just get over it and let us do it, you know we always win anyway, so just save the trouble this time and give in." Alice said smiling. And unfortunately, they were right; I always lost when it came to Rose and Alice.

"Ugh, ok, but please don't go overboard, I don't want him to think I'm trying too hard."

"Um, do you know who you are talking to Bells? Don't doubt us, we know what we are doing." Rose said as she winked at Alice. I wasn't even going to try to say anything back, they never listened anyway. I absolutely loved Eclipse. They had a huge dance floor where tons of people were line dancing. We joined in the line dancing after having a few drinks. We dance for about an hour and then we decided to leave.

Rose was getting off early the next day just so she could come over and help me get ready for my date with Edward. She and Alice would be at the apartment at 5:30 to start the damage. I was already dreading it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Work went by extremely fast and I was catching onto things quickly. It was almost 5 o clock and Miss Rachel told me I could go ahead and go for the day. I got to our apartment around 5:15 and Rose was already there.

"Bella! We already picked out your outfit, so go hop in the shower and we will finish getting everything ready!" Alice said as I entered the front door. I took a very long shower, letting the steam fill my lungs and mist my face. I shaved my legs and applied lotion after I got out. Alice and Rose were waiting impatiently in my bedroom.

"Bella you were in the bathroom for 30 minutes!" Alice screamed at me.

"I know, sorry, I had to shave!"

"Well get your butt over here, he will be here in an hour!" Rose said as she was pointing to the chair she wanted me to sit in. They picked and plucked at my face and hair for what seemed like forever and they finally let me see myself. I must say I didn't look half bad; I just hated the feeling of wearing so much makeup. My hair was curled in loose waves and pulled half back with a rhinestone clip. I loved my hair when it was wavy; I was just too lazy to do it myself.

"Now put this dress, these shoes, and this jewelry on and your transformation will be complete!" Rose said as she handed me the items. They had apparently bought me a new dress, because I had definitely never seen this one before. It was dark blue satin and absolutely gorgeous.

"Um don't you guess think this is a little too dressy?" I asked them.

"Bella, do you know what Café Palma is? They like, have a dress code, it's one of the nicest places in town." Rose informed me.

"Oh, wow, I didn't know that. I have never been to that nice of a place." I really hadn't, I mean yeah I have been to some ok restaurants, but none with a freaking dress code.

"Just put this on and the only thing Edward will be thinking about is how much he wants to take it off of you." Alice said with a sultry look.

"I don't plan on screwing him the first date, Al. If you give it all away the first night, they won't be back for more."

"Oh trust me Bells, he will be back." Rose said as she was walking out of the room. It was fifteen till 7 and I was getting nervous. What if I spent all of this time getting dolled up for him and he stood me up? There would be hell to pay if that happened. I walked in the living room and Alice was gawking at Rose's finger.

"Alice," I said looking at her strangely, "Why are you looking at Rose's finger like that?"

"She just got her engagement ring back from the jewelers and it is the most amazing ring I have ever seen!" she said still looking at it. I knew that Rose was engaged, I had just never noticed that she wasn't wearing a ring. It had to be shipped off to get sized and she had just gotten it back that day.

"Well let me see!" I said as I walked over. She was right, it was breathtaking. 5 seconds later there was a knock on the door. I quickly looked over at Rose and Alice with a panicked look on my face.

"Don't just stand there, go open the door!" Alice said as she was shooing me with her hands. I took a deep breath and walked toward the door. I opened it to see Edward standing there in a nice suit with a single white rose with pink tips in his hand.

"I heard this was your favorite flower," he said as he handed me the rose. "Too bad it's not as beautiful as you are tonight." I felt my face get hot with my blushing and all I could say was thank you.

"Let me put this in some water and then we can go, won't you come in?" I asked him politely.

"Hello Rose. And Alice, good to see you again," he said sticking out his hand for Alice to shake.

"Yes, so good to see you again too!" she said as she shook his hand back.

"Edward if you so dare to do anything else to hurt Bella," Rosalie said to him. "I swear to God I will-"

"Rose, I got you, I got you, calm down." He said back to her. I walked back into the living room and they were all three starring at me.

"Okay… Ready to go Edward?" I asked as I walked toward the door.

"Couldn't be more." He said as he followed me. We walked down the steps in comfortable silence. I was about to reach the bottom step when one of my ankles gave out because of my heels. I felt an arm around me and I looked up to see Edward's face. I couldn't help but blush once again.

"Better be careful Bella, don't need you in the emergency room anytime soon." He said as he stood me back up.

"Yeah, you should go tell Rose and Alice that, they are the ones that made me wear all of this."

"Well, remind me to thank them later." He said as he was walking towards his beautiful car. He opened the door for me and I slid into the tan leather seat. He walked over to the driver side quickly and started the engine.

"Wait, you like Copeland?" I asked him when I heard it on the stereo.

"Guilty pleasure, I guess," he said with that crooked grin that was going to be the death of me. We rode to the restaurant just listening and singing to the music. Well, I sang, Edward listened. It was almost impossible for me to not sing a song when I know the words, I sang without even noticing.

"You know you really do have a great voice Bella," Edward said as he pulled up to the restaurant." You are way better than all of those people you hear on the radio these days."

"Um, thanks," I said as I was blushing, yet again." But I don't really think I'm that great."

"Trust me, you are." He said as he stopped in front of the valet parking. The valet guy opened my door for me and Edward handed him the keys. The restaurant was absolutely beautiful. It had a grand ballroom like entrance with a gorgeous chandelier.

"Two reserved under Cullen," Edward told the lady standing at the podium.

"Right this way sir," she said giving him sex eyes. I bet he gets that a lot. We followed the girl to our table that was lined with a gold table cloth with a rose and a candle in the middle.

"Your server will be right with you." The lady said, only talking to Edward. "Please, enjoy your meal." We sat down at the table and started to look at the menu. I loved Italian food and I was starving.

"So what's your favorite Italian dish?" I asked Edward as he was looking at his menu.

"Well it's a three way tie between, chicken marsala, chicken alfredo, and steak Dianne. What about you?"

"I know its plain, but I love spaghetti with meatballs, but I want to try something different tonight." I said looking at him over my menu. "What do you suggest?"

"How about I order the steak and you order the chicken marsala and we can share." He said as he closed his menu.

"Sounds like a deal." Our waiter came a few minutes later and Edward ordered a bottle of very expensive white wine and our dinner.

"Edward, you really did not have to go all out like this for our first date." I said as I sipped my wine.

"Bella, I treated you badly and I want to make it up to you, you deserve it." he said as he put his hand on mine. I couldn't help but blush one more time. We continued to have a nice conversation until our food came. The food was delicious and I couldn't quit talking about how good it was to Edward.

"Well, I think you enjoyed that." Edward said as the waiter took both of our very empty plates away. "Now you know we can't come to an Italian restaurant without ordering some Tiramisu."

"Yes I enjoyed it very much" I said smiling." And Tiramisu sounds wonderful." We finished up our decadent dessert and Edward paid for the very expensive meal that we just ate.

"Well Bella I know it is only our first date, but would you like to come back to my place with me for a bit and watch a movie?" he asked me as he helped me out of my chair.

"Sure," was all that I could say back as I locked my arm with his and we exited the restaurant. Who could say no to Edward Cullen? We exited the restaurant and waited for our car to be brought to us from the valet.

Our meal was excellent and so was our conversation. Edward was so mature and sophisticated, and that was something that I was definitely not used to. The only guys I dated were low lifes with no future and no respect for anyone or anything. I was so tired of dating those types of guys, and I really hoped everything would work out well with Edward. There was one thing I was hoping to find while I was in Nashville, love; and maybe I was about to find it.

Edward yet again opened my car door for me and I slid back into his beautiful car.

"My place is only just down the street from here, so we will be there soon." Edward said as he drove away from the restaurant.

"Ok." I said as I smiled at him. We continued to ride in comfortable silence while listening to some more Copeland. It had been about 4 minutes and he pulled into a parking garage that was under one of the tallest buildings in Nashville. He parked the car and came around to my side to open my door for me.

There was an elevator across from his parking space and I followed him to it. We didn't have to wait for the elevator long and we made our way inside. Edward punched the button that had PH on it. I couldn't help but look up at him after he hit the button.

"I live in the penthouse," He said as he ran his fingers through his hair. "It's on the 47th floor so I hope you aren't afraid of heights!"

"Oh, I'm not." I said back to him." I have just never been in a penthouse before." Everything about this man was extravagant, and I was not accustomed to it, but I didn't mind. The elevator took us up quickly and before I knew it we had made it to the 47th floor. We exited the elevator and I followed him to one of the two doors that were on this floor.

"There are two penthouses on this floor, but I'm in 4701." He said as he unlocked his door. I accidentally let a small gasp escape my lips as I entered the penthouse. I walked into a gorgeous open floor plan that had a whole wall of floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city. The walls were a warm tan color and he had a beautiful white leather sofa positioned around a huge flat screen tv. On the other side of the room was a large wooden desk with built in bookcases behind it. Between the living room area and the office area was a white grand piano. On the same wall that the front door was on was the kitchen to the left. It had a large island and bar area with 4 barstools adjacent to were the piano was located. Around the other side of the kitchen was a small hall way where I'm guessing his bedroom and bathroom was.

"Edward, this is gorgeous." I said to him as I walked closer to the window so I could look out.

"Would you like to go out on the balcony?" he asked as he put his hand on my lower back. Chills ran up my spine and I nodded my head. We went out on the balcony through the all glass door that was over by the office area. There was an outdoor couch that was flourished with colorful pillows and a huge grill and a large patio table was on the other end of the balcony, as well as a hot tub.

"Wow, the city looks so big from up here." I said as I propped up my elbows on the rail.

"Yeah I know it takes some getting used to but I love it here. And the best thing about being up this high is no one can see in." He said as he pulled me closer to him. "I believe that is your apartment building right over there." He said as he pointed.

"It's so tiny! How many feet up are we?"

"I'm not sure, but I think you can see anything within a 10 mile radius if the sky is clear."

"That's really cool." I said as I wrapped my arms around me, it was getting chilly." How long have you lived here?"

"Well I moved here a year ago to start my residency at the hospital and I needed to find a place to live as quickly as possible and another doctor told me about this place and I fell in love with it, so I have been living here for about a year." He said as he put his arm around my waist.

"Let's go inside, it's getting chilly out here." He said as he turned around. I followed him back inside and went to sit on the couch. My feet were killing me.

"Pick out a movie and I'm going to change out of this suit." He said as he was taking off his tie. After I removed my heels, I walked over to his huge DVD collection. Hmm. Should I go with a chick flick? No, I'm sure every girl that comes over to his place picks a chick flick. Maybe a thriller, not scary though. I continued to scan until I came across The Dark Night. I decided to go with that because who doesn't like Batman? Edward came back into the room with some jeans and a plain grey t shirt on.

"So, what did you pick?" he asked as he plopped down on the couch beside me.

"The Dark Night," I said as I curled my feet underneath me.

"Ah, one of my favorites! I don't know why but I didn't take you for a batman girl."

"And why not?" I said tilting my head to the side.

"I don't know really, I guess you just seem like you would only like chick flicks."

"Well, I guess that means you need to learn a lot more about me then, doesn't it?" I said as I poked him in the side.

"I hope that I can eventually learn everything about you Bella." He said as he reached for the remote. "Shall we begin?"

"We shall." I said as I was thinking. He was really good at slipping sweet things in and then suddenly change the subject, I just wasn't sure why. Throughout the movie I would catch Edward looking over at me and then quickly look back to the screen. I thought it was pretty funny, considering I was doing the exact same thing. I just couldn't help but look at him. We had eventually moved pretty close to one another and he finally reached over and grabbed my hand. I kind of felt like I was in high school, but it was cute and very sweet, and I definitely did not mind that we were moving slow.

The movie was finally over and I looked over at my phone. It was almost midnight.

"Wow Edward it's getting late, I should be getting home. Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"Yes, but not until 3, what about you?"

"Yeah I do, but its ok, I'm used to not getting much sleep." I said as I got up from the couch.

"Well let me get my shoes and keys and we can go."

"Oh, I forgot I didn't drive, I can call a cab no problem, and I don't want to inconvenience you." I said as I put my heels back on.

"Bella, don't be ridiculous, that just means I get to spend 15 more minutes with you." He said as he winked. He knew just what to do to make my heart melt.

"Ok" I said as I blushed. "Ready to go?"

"Yes ma'am." We made our way back to the elevator and Edward told me a little bit about the building. We got down to the parking garage and he opened my door for me again. He got in the car and pulled out of the garage, but this time he turned the radio off.

"So, Bella, why is a pretty little thing like you single? A guy should have had you grabbed up already." He said as he sat his hand on my thigh.

"Well I have had a few long term relationships but they were never going to amount to anything and I'm not one that likes to waste my time, so I just decided to not fool around with anything if it was pointless, ya know?"

"You sound like a very smart girl, Bella."

"I try to be." I said as I placed my hand on top of his. "Now why are you single, Mr. Perfect?"

"Hahaha well I am definitely not Mr. Perfect, but thank you for the compliment." He said with that sexy crooked grin." I guess I had a lot of experiences just like you. I was tired of being with girls that were so high maintenance and only cared about material things, it was just a waste of time for me also."

"I'm glad we have that in common, then." I said smiling at him.

"Me too, Bella, me too," We were soon back at my apartment and I honestly did not want to get out of the car.

"Well Bella, I had a wonderful time tonight, and I hope that we can do it again soon." He said as he put the car in park and turned to me. "Let me walk you to your door."

"Ok." I said as I took my seat belt off. He opened my car door for me the last time that night and we made our way up the stairs with our arms locked. We reached the top of the stairs and stood in front of my door.

"Well I would ask you to go out with me again next weekend, but I have a conference in Chicago and I will be gone for a week." He said as he ran his fingers through his beautiful hair. "Are you going to Rose's and Em's party the next weekend?"

"Yes, I have to help decorate and make the cake." I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I will see you there then."

"It's a date." I said smiling at him. He then took a step towards me and slid his palm under my jaw. He pushed my hair out of my face with his other hand and I felt his breath on my lips. His smell was amazing and my heart was racing. I felt his lips lightly graze mine and he pulled away slowly. I think I stayed there with my eyes closed a little too long because when I opened them he was staring back at me.

"Well, sleep well my Bella, and I will see you soon." And with that he turned around and walked down the stairs. I sighed and turned around to open my door to the apartment. I couldn't help but think about our date and how much fun I had. It had been a very long time since I had felt the way that I did at this moment, and I had never felt this strongly for someone so fast. I was falling for Edward Cullen and there was nothing I could do about it. I entered my apartment and closed the door behind me. It was dark inside and I just stood there for a minute with my back against the door.

"Bella what the hell are you doing!" Alice yelled at me as I jumped 10 feet in the air.

"Shit Al, you scared the buh-jesus outta me!" I said as I placed my hand over my heart to feel how fast it was beating.

"Well… how did it go!"

"It was… it was... great!" I said with a silly grin on my face.

"Falling for him already are we?"

"Alice, he is just so different than any other guy I have ever dated, and I'm more than relieved. It's like he's exactly what I have been looking for. He just seems so perfect and too good to be true."

"Huh, well what was his excuse for standing you up?" she said with her hand on her hip. Shit. I had totally forgotten that he had stood me up. How could I forget that you ask? I don't know. We were just having such a great time that it totally slipped my mind.

"Bella!"

"Well umm he didn't exactly say anything about that. I guess I forgot about it." I said as I walked away from the door and towards my bedroom.

"Wait a second." Alice said with the most confused look on her face. "You just forgot that he broke your heart and you were moping around for 3 weeks! How could you forget that Bells?"

"I don't know Alice!" I yelled back at her waving one of my arms in the air." I guess I just wanted to start fresh and we did ok? So just drop it. I'm sure he had a good excuse and he made it up to me so it doesn't even matter anymore!"

"Ok, Bella. I just hope it doesn't happen again. But as long as you are happy, I'm happy for you." She said as she patted me on the back and walked to her bedroom. Huh. I mean yeah I was glad that we had started fresh and we did have a marvelous time. But I couldn't help but wonder what his problem was to begin with. It shouldn't matter to me but it did. I did want to know, maybe he just needed some time to tell me.

I went to my room and quickly changed into my pjs and hoped into bed. It was 12:30 and I had to be up at 8 so I could take a shower and go to work. I closed my eyes and tried to think of anything other than Edward, but that was hard to do.

I woke up to my alarm blaring in my ear. I groaned and sat up in my bed, rubbing my eyes and attempting to run my fingers through my matted up hair. I got up and tried to brush through my hair and got in the shower. I was going to look like crap today but I didn't care. I seriously doubt I would see Edward today anyway.

I arrived at work right around 9 and of course Miss Rachel was already inside baking.

"Good morning Miss Isabella!" she said as she was dancing to the radio.

"Good morning! Someone is in a great mood today." I said observing her dancing.

"I found out last night that I am going to be a grandmother and I just could not be any more excited!"

"Oh well congratulations!" I said as I gave her a hug.

"Thank you dear. Now let's get to work, shall we?" she said as she patted off the flour from her hands onto her apron. I nodded with a smile as I made my way to the recipe book. I was determined to learn all of the damn recipes if it killed me.

After looking at the recipes for a while, I made my way to the register because we were about to open. We were yet again just as busy this morning as any other morning, but sadly no Edward today.

It was getting close to closing time when a man walked into the shop with a bouquet of white flowers in his arms.

"How can I help you sir?" I said to the man with the flowers.

"These are for an Isabella Swan. Please tell me that she works here." The man said as he rolled his eyes.

"Um, that's me!" I said as I was reaching for the flowers. I usually didn't like all of these girly and romantic things, but I honestly couldn't remember the last time I got flowers.

"Well, here ya go, enjoy." The man said sarcastically. Someone forgot to take their happy pills this morning obviously. The flowers were absolutely gorgeous. They were all white, but some of them I had never seen before. There had to be at least 20 different white flowers altogether. I dug around until I found the card.

_ I remember when I'd run to you, through fields of white flowers._ Copeland lyrics. Edward was way too much of a hopeless romantic, but I loved it. I quickly got out my phone and texted Edward.

_ Your embrace was my air, how I needed you there. _I typed the remaining lyrics to the phrase and pushed send.

"Well who is the recipient of these beautiful flowers?" Miss Rachel said as she was admiring them.

"Me." I said shyly.

"Well, you are one lucky girl my dear and you can go home now if you'd like. I can finish up from here."

"Ok, thank you Miss Rachel." I said smiling." Have a great night and I will see you on Monday!" I picked up the flowers and headed to my 4runner. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket but I couldn't look at it till I put these huge flowers down. I got to the car and put my flowers in the passenger seat and opened up my phone.

_ I see you got my delivery. I hope they were half as beautiful as you were last night._ I couldn't help but blush. This boy made me blush without even being around me!

_ They are gorgeous Edward. Thank you so much! Have a safe trip to Chicago and I will see you when you get back._ With that I shut my phone and drove back to my apartment with a huge grin on my face the whole ride home. I was home alone for a few hours and I decided to take a quick nap. There was nothing else to do and I was in love with sleep. I was abruptly woken by my screaming roommate.

"Bella!" Alice screamed at the top of her lungs as she entered my bedroom without knocking.

"Hey what if I would have been naked?" I asked as I sat up in my bed.

"Like I haven't seen you naked before? And besides you had fair warning." She said as she plopped down on the end of my bed making the whole bed bounce. I just rolled my eyes at her and stretched my arms, waiting to hear the plans for the rest of the night.

"Well get your ass outta bed and get ready because we are going shopping for Halloween costumes!" Ugh I had forgotten that the Halloween party was coming up so soon. I had no idea what I wanted to dress up as.

"Ok, just give me like 10 minutes." I said as I stood up and walked to my bathroom. I got ready and walked into the living room and Alice was standing by the door with keys in hand.

"A little anxious, are we?" I asked as I walked to the door.

"Yes Yoda, I want to get there before all of the costumes are picked over!" she said with a "duh" look on her face. 10 minutes later we were in the makeshift Halloween store that in a closed grocery store building. Alice made her way straight to the "mystical characters" isle and I followed closely behind.

"So Bella, what do you want to be? I think I'm going to go with sexy fairy." She said as she held the costume up. It was cute, and definitely sexy. She informed me that Rose and Emmett were going as Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio. That's a cute idea; I just had no clue what I wanted to be.

I made my way to the "decades" isle and scanned the costumes. 20's flapper, 50's poodle skirt, hippie, disco, an 80's costume… none of them looked right for me. Then I made my way down the "princess isle". The first thing that caught my eye was a sexy snow white costume. It was very cute and I decided to get it. We made our way up to the front and paid for our costumes. Alice kept going on and on about the Halloween party and how excited she was. I was excited too, because that would be the next time I would get to see Edward and I could hardly wait.

"So have you designed the cake yet?" Alice asked me as we exited the store.

"Miss Rachel said that we would start on it Monday." I lied. I had totally forgotten to mention it to Miss Rachel this morning, but I'm sure she would have no problem with starting it on Monday.

"Well, that's good. Be sure it's big enough to feed 150 people."

"150 people!" I yelled back at her. "How can they have that many friends?"

"Well, Emmett is a famous football player you know, and he invited the whole team which is like 50 people, then if they all bring a date, that adds up!"

"Yeah I guess you're right, I just wasn't expecting it to be that big of a party." I said as we got into the car.

"Oh, prepare yourself Bella, it's going to be the party of our lives!" Alice said as she happily fastened her seat belt." There are going to be so many hot single rich football players there, and hopefully Emmett and Edward's other brother too, oh I can't wait!" Alice was so boy crazy. You would think that you would grow out of that, but for Alice, it was just getting worse. She needed to find a boyfriend, and fast, because she was really starting to get on my nerves.

"Me neither Alice, it's going to be so much fun!" I had never been to a huge party like this before, and I really was looking forward to it, for more than one reason too


	4. Chapter 4:Me, You, and the dance floor

**Chapter 4: Me, you, and the dance floor**

So I had learned about two years ago that alcohol was NOT my friend. It was mine and Alice's first college party, and we were bound and determined to live it up. We were dancing on tables, playing beer pong, and doing keg stands. Not a good idea when it was your first time drinking. After our escapade, it had taken us 3 days to fully recover, and we vowed to never drink again.

Well, apparently that vow was over, because Alice was currently in a funnel race with Emmett in the center of his huge living room with 150 people surrounding them and cheering them on.

It was finally the night of the Halloween party and I was so ready to see Edward. Rose, Alice, and I had been at Emmett's apartment since about 1 o'clock that afternoon decorating for the party that started at 8. We worked our asses off, but the place looked great! I had also spent all week designing and putting the huge Halloween cake together, and I was very pleased with the outcome of it and proud of myself as well.

At 6:30 we had finally finished decorating and we went to get ready. There was no other way to say it, we all looked HOT. Rose was of course absolutely gorgeous and looked a lot like Marilyn Monroe. Alice was of course looking sexy in her fairy costume, and Rose and Alice had spent more time on my getting ready then them combined. They curled my hair into loose curls that fell down my back and had put bright red lipstick on my lips. I was already pretty pale, so I guess I did look a lot like Snow White. I absolutely loved my costume, and I had never felt sexier before in my entire life.

It was now 9:30 and the party was banging. Rose was constantly locked onto Emmett's arm, and Alice was flirting with as many guys as possible. I was staying as close to Alice as possible, because I didn't know anyone else other than Rose, and let's face it, I wasn't that outgoing, especially when everyone around me was a famous rich football player.

Alice and I had had fun so far, dancing with random drunk guys, having as much fun sober as possible. That was until Emmett came up to us while we were taking a break next to the open bar that Emmett had so graciously provided for the party.

"So…." He said propping himself up on his elbow that was on the bar. "Are you guys having fun, or what!"

"Yes Emmett, we having a great time! Thanks so much for throwing such a great party." Alice said as she sat down on one of the barstools.

"Can I get y'all a drink? Anything at all?" He asked drunkenly.

"Um well we actually decided not to drink, we don't do to well with alcohol." I said blushing.

"What! It's Halloween! You HAVE to drink!" Emmett said as he took a shot of Tequila. Alice looked up at me with her puppy dog eyes. I knew that she wanted to drink, but we both knew we would regret it tomorrow. I just gave her a stern look and shook my head, crossing my arms.

"I _dare_ you to do a funnel race with me, Alice Brandon." Emmett said with a sly look on his face. Shit. Even though we had only known Emmett for about a month, he knew that Alice never turned down a dare. Ever. I gave Emmett the death stare, still with my arms crossed, and he stuck his tongue out at me before walking to the living room.

"Rose!" I screamed at her as she laughed at me.

"Hey, you know how Alice is, a dare is a dare, and you know she wouldn't turn it down." She said as she started to pull on my arm. "Come on Bells, you know you want to watch." Ok, so maybe I did want to watch, but that didn't mean I was going to drink. I followed Rose into the living room just in time to see my best friend standing on the coffee table with a funnel in her mouth. She had to stand on the coffee table just so that she was close to the same height as Emmett. He was still a little taller, which I found quite humorous.

"Ok, on the count of 3, let 'em rip!" Said one of Emmett's teammates. "One, two… three!" I had never seen such a sight before. Alice was actually beating Emmett!

"Whewwwww go Alice!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Hey, it was a party, might as well enjoy it, right? Rose gave me a weird look, and then joined me in rooting for Alice.

"And the winner is Alice!" Said the football player as he held up one of Alice's arms like she had just won a boxing match. Alice was jumping up and down and ran over to me and Rose.

"I won, I won, I won!" Alice said screaming over the music.

"I know Alice, way to go!" I said as I gave her a high five.

"Bella, I say we screw this no drinking thing. I mean yeah, we may regret it tomorrow, but we will have a hell of a time tonight!" she said as she talked with her hands. I stood there for a minute looking down at the floor and thinking. Maybe she was right, I mean a little booze never hurt anyone, much.

"Bell-a." She said whining. I looked up with a given up look on my face. "Oh alright." I said as I put my arms down. The next thing I knew there was a drink in my hand and we were headed back to the dance floor. We danced to about 5 songs, having so much fun, until our drinks were empty.

"Time for a refill!" Alice said as she started to walk to the bar. She was already a little tipsy.

"Wait up Alice!" I said as I ran up to her. "Let's do some shots!" Alice gave me quick hug and pulled me to the bar, running.

"Give us a shot of the best thing ya got" Alice said to the bartender. He handed us a shot of something, I have no idea what, but clanked my shot glass with Alice and tilted my head back to take my shot.

"Another." I said as I slammed my glass down on the bar. Alice didn't say anything, she just nodded her head and smiled at the bartender. We had a total of 5 shots before we decided to leave the bar and go back to the dance floor, this time with a margarita in hand.

"Whoa, Al." I said as stepped down from my barstool. "I gotta pee." I said as I could already feel the alcohol affecting my body.

"Ok Bella, just meet me back on the dance floor!" she said as she danced away. I walked away from the bar area, and I was more drunk than I realized.

"Ok, bathroom…. Where is the bathroom." I said to myself as walked down a dark hallway stumbling. I opened one of the doors and stumbled straight into the chest of a large football player.

"Well hell-o" he said as he held both of my arms with his.

"Uh hi. I was just needing to use the bathroom…"

"Well I think you need to come in this room with me and we can have a little fun." He said as he pulled on my elbow.

"I don't think so buddy, let go of my arm." I said as I tried to pull away.

"You aren't going to get away that easy, beautiful." He said as he attempted to kiss me. I might be drunk, but I was not weak. He was NOT going to do anything to me without a fight.

"Get the fuck off of me!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as he attempted to drag me into a dark bedroom. I tried to kick him where the sun don't shine, but he caught my foot with his free arm.

"Looks like we got a feisty one here." He said as he was still holding onto my foot. "I like it rough." He whispered into my ear. I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up. This guy was about to take advantage of me, and there was nothing I could do about it. I continued to scream, but no one could hear me over the loud music of the party. He was about to close the door to the bedroom when I saw a fist past between mine and his face and it knocked him to the ground.

"Bella, are you ok?" Said a man dressed as the phantom of the opera.

"Dude, what the hell was that for man, I was just trying to have some fun." Said the guy that was still laying in the floor.

"James, I know that you like to pick on innocent girls and ruin their lives, but you can't have this one, she's mine, and I think you should leave." Said the man that was now holding me in his arms. "Come on Bella."

"You- how do you know my name?" I said to the man that I didn't recognize in the dark. He quickly removed his phantom mask and I recognized him instantly. It was Edward.

"Oh Edward!" I said as I buried my head into his chest. "I was so scared..." I said as I started to cry.

"It's ok Bella, I'm here now, it's ok." He said as he petted my hair.

"If you wouldn't have been here… I..I.. I co-oul-ld-d-d have b-been-n-n raped-d-d!" I said as I was now boo-hooing.

"Shh Bella, it's ok. Come on." He said as he put his arm around my waist. "Let's get you to a bathroom so you can clean yourself up and we can go enjoy the party."

"The bathroom is what got me into this mess." I said as I wiped away some of my tears and entered the bathroom. I was embarrassed by what I saw in the mirror. My hair was an absolute mess from trying to fight that guy off, and my mascara had run all down my face from my crying. I looked horrible. I tried my best to recover from my mishap and finally got to pee. Even after all of the fighting and crying, I was still drunk. I turned the knob of the bathroom door and stumbled into the arms of Edward.

"I missed you." He said as he stood me back up straight. I looked up at him and smiled the biggest smile possible.

"Oh trust me, I missed you more." We walked back into the living room where the party was still going on. People were dancing everywhere, and I was starting to feel better.

"Let's get us some drinks." Edward said as he put his mask back on and walked towards the bar with his arm around my waist. I nodded my head as I glanced around the party looking for Alice. I was about to give up when I spotted what I thought was her costume. There Alice was, sitting on the couch, straddling Edward's brother Jasper and making out heavily.

"Well it looks like Alice is having fun." I told Edward as I pointed to the scene.

"I knew they would end up together." Edward said laughing while he waited for the bartender.

"One Sex on the beach and one crown and coke." Edward said to the bartender. I had never had a sex on the beach, but it sounded good.

He handed me my drink and lead me to the dance floor. We danced for 3 songs, and Edward was an amazing dancer.

"Follow me." He whispered into my ear as he was holding onto my fingertips. I gladly followed him from the dance floor to the bar to get some refills, and then to the front door of Emmett's luxury apartment. He led me to a small staircase beside the elevator. We made our way up two flights of stairs and ended up on the roof. It was a beautiful night out and quite warm for the end of October, but it was still a little chilly, especially since I was wearing such a sluttish outfit. There happened to be some chairs already on the roof, and I took the liberty of sitting down on one because standing was too hard. Edward laughed as I almost missed the chair when I sat.

"Hey don't laugh." I said as I shook my finger in his face.

"I can't help it Bella, you are just too cute." He said as he sat down in the chair next to me.

"Let's play a game." I said excitedly as I dazed into his bright green eyes.

"Ok, what do you want to play?" he said as he moved the hair out of my face.

"How about… 20 questions," I said matter-of-factly.

"Ok, you go first." He said back to me.

"Ok, how was your trip to Chicago?" I said slurring a little bit.

"Bella, I don't think that is the kind of question tha-"

"Just answer the question mister." I said as I put my hand over his mouth.

"Ok… well it was good. I had to go to a lot of seminars and listened to people way smarter than me speak about a lot of smart things that I highly doubt I will ever be able to understand. And I missed you terribly." He said never taking his eye's from mine. "Now I believe it's my turn to ask you a question." I just gave him the "duh" look and he continued. "What is your dream job?"

"Hmm... well, ever since I was little, I have dreamed of working for Disney. Either working in Disney World as a performer, singing for a movie, or being in a Broadway Musical." I said thoughtfully." I have always wanted to do that, just never tried out. I don't like rejection, and I know that there is no way I would make it. I don't have any training." I said looking down at the roof.

"Bella, you know you are good enough for anything like th-"

"This isn't the 'conversation game'," I said as I made air quotes." Now it's my turn to ask you a question." I sat there for a minute trying to think of a good one, but that was hard to do while intoxicated.

"What is your favorite thing to do?"

"Hmm…" he said as he sat there for a minute looking up at the starry sky. "I guess either listen to music or play the piano."

"I didn't know you played th-"

"Remember Bella, this isn't the "conversation game"". He said mocking me. I just rolled my eyes and waited for him to ask me another question.

"Do you have a list of things you want to accomplish before you die?" he asked starring deep into my eyes.

"Yes." I said as I nodded my head once. "Who is your favorite band?"

"But you didn't let me finish with your question." He said as he pouted.

"You get one question, you asked it, and I answered it. Now it's your turn to answer." I said as I poked his nose with my finger.

"Ok Bella" he said laughing. "I guess my all time favorite band would have to be Metallica, but I love a lot of different bands, such as Copeland." He said as he stood up to stretch. "What are 5 random things on your list?"

"Hey that's not fair! Its only one question, not 5!" I said as I held out 5 of my fingers in front of my face so that I could count them.

"Just answer the question Bella."

"Ugh, ok. Well I really want to visit each state of the United States; so far I have been to 7. I want to get married, and have kids, I want to experience new years in New York, and….." I sat there and thought for a minute. "How many was that so far?"

"Four."

"Ok, umm… I want to be kissed in the snow." I said as I crossed my arms over my chest. The next thing I said came out like word vomit.

"Why did you not call me the first time." I said as I looked up at him sadly. He sat back down in his chair and looked down.

"Bella..." He said as he looked up at me. "I did a horrible thing, and I hope that you can forgive me, and I know that you deserve an explanation, because it was not fair to you for me to do that." He took a deep breath in and blew it back out through his cheeks. "No one else knows this but me and God..." He sat there starring into the sky for about a minute before he began. I sat there patiently, anxiously waiting for what he was about to say.

"About two years ago, I was in a serious relationship with a girl named Tanya. We were together for four years, I met her in college when I was 18 and she was 20. Everything was great for a long time, and then she found out that she was pregnant. I was scared at first but after I put a lot of thought into it I became excited. We were about to tell everyone about her pregnancy, and I was planning to ask her to marry me, and then she had a miscarriage. It tore us apart, and our relationship was never the same after that. The reason we broke up is because I found out that she was actually cheating on me and I wasn't even sure that that baby was mine." He said as he started to tear up.

"Edward, it's ok, you don't have to," but he put his hand up to stop me.

"No Bella, you need to know." I nodded my head and let him continue.

"Anyway, after all of that happened, I became depressed, and I promised myself that I wouldn't date anyone for a long time. And I haven't dated anyone since. But then when I saw you that first night in the bar, I couldn't take my eyes off of you, and I honestly don't think that I have ever felt that way before. I know I didn't with Tanya." He said looking into my eyes. "It scared me a little, because I forgot what it was like. After I took you home after you were in the hospital, I knew I had to see you again, and that's why I asked you on a date. But the reason I never called is mainly because I was scared. Scared that I would like you too much or scared that you would lead me on or not like me in return, and that's why I never called. But then when I saw you in the bakery, I knew that it must be fate. I couldn't get you out of my head and it was driving me crazy, and then I saw you and I knew that I HAD to see you again. That's why I didn't even ask you out again, I just told you." I continued to stare into his eyes. How such a wonderfully beautiful man inside and out could have gone through all of this baffled me. I didn't have anything to say to him. What could you say after someone told you one of their deepest secrets?

I took his head in my hands, and forcefully placed my lips onto his. At first he was hesitant, but in a split second he was kissing me back. It was the most passionate and wonderful kiss I had ever experienced. The warmth of his breathe was hot on my lips and it made me shiver. I deepened the kiss and hoped that it could last forever. It was magical. We continued to kiss until I lost all track of time. It could have been 5 minutes, it could have been 5 hours, all I knew is that I was falling hard for this perfect man and it was too late to turn back now.


	5. Chapter 5:I think I'm falling for you

**Chapter 5: I think I'm falling for you**

I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. I sat up, a little too fast, and placed my hand over my eyes. It was way too bright in here. Oh God, where am I? I looked down to see Edward sleeping sweetly beside me. Oh, God, what happened last night? Did we have sex? Wait, I'm fully clothed, and so is he…. So I'm guessing no? I did not want my first time with Edward to be while I was wasted, so for that I was relieved, but I still had no idea where I was, and I felt like complete shit. I sat there for a while, still covering my eyes with one of my hands, trying to remember everything from last night. I was never drinking that much ever again.

"Well good morning beautiful." I heard that velvet voice say beside me. I spread my fingers apart slightly so that I could see Edward and made a groaning noise.

"Hangover?" he asked as he sat up. I simply nodded my head and laid back down. He bent over the top of me and kissed my forehead. "I will be right back, don't you go anywhere." About a minute later Edward came back in the room with some aspirin and a bottle of water in hand. "Here," he said as he handed me the items. "Take three of these and drink the whole bottle of water and you should feel much better in about 30 minutes." I gladly grabbed the water from his hand and downed the pills. I was very dehydrated and drank the whole bottle in a few gulps.

"Thank you" I finally managed to get out. "So um, where are we?"

"We are in one of Emmett's extra bedrooms. You passed out on me last night into our 19th question of 20 questions." He said with a laugh. "So what do you remember from last night?" he said slyly.

"Umm.. well… I remember us going to the roof and asking each other questions, and then I remember kissing you for a while… and that's about it." I said as I felt the blush come to my cheeks. "What happened after that?"

"Well we just asked each other a few more questions and then you passed out on me." He said as he came to sit next to me on the bed.

"Oh yeah? What were the questions?" I asked him smiling.

"Just dumb questions," he said looking like he wanted to avoid further questions. "But there was one more question I wanted to ask you to finish up our game." He said as he ran his fingers through his messy hair.

"Ok" I said to him looking confused.

"I know that we have only officially been on one date, but I was wondering if maybe, you don't have to, but if you want to.."

"Edward, just spit it out." I said laughing at him. This gorgeous man was nervous, in front of me. HA! He was way too cute to handle.

"Would-you-like-to-be-my-girlfriend?" he said all ran together.

"Come again?" I said trying to figure out what he said.

"Would you, Isabella Marie Swan, do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" he said starring into my eyes.

"Wait, how do you know my middle name?" I asked.

"It was one of the questions I asked last night."

"Oh." That made sense, I thought.

"So...?" Edward said as he took my hand in his.

"I would be more than delighted to be your girlfriend," I said as I placed a kiss on his cheek. He embraced me in a hug and we were abruptly interrupted by Alice storming into the room.

"What the hell did you do with my best friend last night buddy? If you took advantage of her I swear to God I will ripe your damn ba..."

"Alice calm down we didn't do anything." I said as I stood up. "I got too drunk and I passed out and Edward brought me in here, and that's it. I should however be asking Jasper the same question, shouldn't I?" I said as I started to walk out of the room.

"No!" Alice shouted as she came to stand between me and the door. "We will discuss that later. Now both of you get dressed, we are going to lunch in 10 minutes."

"10 minutes, you mean I don't have time to shower?" I asked her as I attempted to run my fingers through my hair. Nope, not happening. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Well if you wouldn't have gotten so drunk last night you wouldn't have slept till 12 and then you could have taken a shower. 10 minutes!" she yelled down the hall as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Ugh!" I slammed the door and turned around to see Edward standing there laughing at me.

"You know you two really do act like you are sisters." Edward said as he handed me my bag.

"The bathroom is right there." He said as he pointed to the other closed door in the room. "You get dressed in there and I will change in here and then we can go."

"Ok." I said as I rolled my eyes and walked to the bathroom. He was right, me and Alice did act like we were sisters, mostly because we pretty much were. She had lived with me and Charlie since her parents passed away when we were sophomores in high school. She didn't have any other close relatives alive, and she did not want to be put in a foster home, so Charlie said that she could stay with us until we graduated, and Alice was more than grateful for us, as we were for her.

I quickly changed into the jeans and v neck t-shirt I had on yesterday and pulled me tangled hair into a loose low ponytail. I applied some quick mascara and powder to my face and brushed my teeth. I exited the bathroom to see Edward sitting on the bed lacing up his shoes.

"Ready?" he said as he looked up.

"Yep, I'm starved!" I said as I placed a quick peck on his lips. We made our way into the kitchen to find Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett sitting impatiently at the kitchen table.

"'Bout damn time Bells!" Emmett said as he stood up.

"Yeah Bella, I said 10 minutes, not 12!" Alice stated as she stood up.

"Oh come on Alice, you know there is no way in hell you could get ready in 45 minutes, let alone 12! So I don't want to hear it!" I said laughing as I walked towards the front door. She didn't respond. Bella 1 Alice 0! We all made our way to our cars. Emmett and Rose took Emmett's hummer, Alice and Japer took Jasper's Corvette, and of course Edward and I took his Bentley. We went to a local breakfast place just down the road from Emmett's apartment.

After we had gotten our food, Rosalie nervously stood up. "Me and Emmett have an announcement to make."

"We do?" Emmett said as he looked up at her.

"Yes, honey. About the wedding…" she said to him out of the side of her mouth.

"Oh yeah! We want you guys to be in our wedding!" Emmett said as he jumped up. Rosalie gave him a death stare.

"Well I was going to explain a little more rather than just throwing it out there, but yes, we want all of you to be in the wedding." Rosalie said as she held Emmett's hand. "I know that we haven't been friends for long," she said as she looked at me and Alice." But I know that we are going to be friends for a very long time, and I wouldn't want anyone else to be my bridesmaids other than you two. My little sister Lauren will be my maid of honor, and the best man is going to be Carlisle. And of course the other groomsmen will be Edward and Jasper." Rose finished up and clapped her hands together, looking pleased with what she said.

"Oh yeah, and it's in Mexico, bitches!" Emmett yelled loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear.

"Mexico! Oh my goodness I have never been out of the country before! Why did you choose Mexico?" Alice excitedly squeaked back.

"Well we didn't want a big wedding, and I didn't want to get married in a church, and there are not any great outdoor venues in Nashville, plus both of our families would have to travel anyway, so why not Mexico?" Rosalie said as she sat down. The rest of our time at the restaurant was spent talking about the wedding of course. I had honestly never even been to a wedding, let alone be in one, so I was excited. And it was going to be in Mexico! I had never been there either, and Rose told us that we would be there for a week! A week in Mexico with my best friends and my boyfriend, what more could a girl ask for?

"Ok so the wedding is going to be March 23rd and we will leave here on the 17th and come back on the 24th!"Rosalie said right before we left. "I haven't decided on my colors yet.. Alice, would you like to help me? My sister Lauren is in New York and its sort of hard for her to help me with all of the wedding plans, and I know how you like to plan things and..."

"I would love too!" Alice said giving her a huge hug. I just laughed at the two of them as they discussed further plans about planning the wedding. I had a feeling these next few months were going to be the death of me. Alice would bring me into this, without a doubt, and there was no way to escape it. I was very happy for Rose and Em, but I do not like planning things. When I get married, I want somebody else to do all of the planning, the only thing I want a say so in is my dress and the cake, of course.

"Ok Bella." Rose said to me before we left the restaurant." We are meeting Monday afternoon to go dress shopping and you WILL be there."

"Aye, aye captain!" I said with a laugh.

"Come on Miss Swan, let's get you a shower, I think you are starting to get loopy." Edward said as he placed his arm around my waist.

"Ok, see you guys later!" I said to the group as Edward and I walked towards his car.

"So what would you like to do?" Edward asked me as he opened my car door.

"Well, like you said, I would love to take a shower, but I don't have a change of clothes so I.."

"Bella, you can take a shower at my house, I will give you some of my pjs to wear and we can curl up and watch a movie, how does that sound?"

"That sounds perfect, Dr. Cullen." I said as I leaned over to give him a kiss. I could never kiss this boy enough.

"What's with the obsession of calling me doctor all the time?" Edward said as he pulled away from our kiss.

"Well, I don't know, I honestly just can't believe that I, Bella Swan, snagged a doctor. Things this good don't happen in my life often, and I like to remind myself of it as much as possible." I said as I grabbed his hand into mine.

"Bella, trust me, I am no good. Nowhere near as good as you are for me." He said as he brought my hand to his lips and placed a peck on my fingertips. I was in complete bliss. I usually hated all the sappy romantic moves that guys try to put on girls, but with Edward it was different. Things were already so perfect and I was scared of what was to come to mess it up, because I know that things this perfect cannot last forever. I have only been with this guy, officially, for like, 2 hours, and he was absolutely all I could think about. I was falling too fast, way too fast, but there was nothing to stop it. We finally made it up to Edward's amazing penthouse apartment and I made my way to the shower.

"Here you can put these on when you finish and I will be waiting on the couch!" he said as he threw me the clothes. I took a very quick shower and put on the gray sweatpants and red t shirt that Edward gave me and started to blow-dry my hair. After about 20 minutes I made my way out of the bathroom and into the living room to see Edward watching Family Guy on the TV.

"I love Family Guy!" I said as I plopped down beside him.

"Wow Bella, you look freaking hot wearing my clothes, maybe you should wear my clothes all the time." He said as he looked me up and down.

"That might be able to be arranged." I said as I leaned in for a kiss. After our quick makeout session, he started the movie. As soon as the movie started I knew exactly what it was, Wedding Crashers.

"How appropriate!" I said as I poked him in the side.

"I thought it was, plus you get to see tons of girl's boobs, and that's always a plus." Edward said as he laughed. I slapped his shoulder. So much for him always being a gentleman.

"You know I'm just kidding Bella." He said as he placed a kiss on my cheek. We watched most of the movie in silence, giggling in the funny parts with our hands intertwined.

"I would be SO mad if someone did that in my wedding!" I said at one of the funny parts.

"Yeah…" Edward said sadly.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I guess I should go ahead and tell you this, and if you want to run, I totally understand, but I hope that you won't." he said as he turned to face me.

"I don't believe in marriage." And with that, my heart sank to the bottom of my stomach.


	6. Chapter 6:Love is crazy, Pretty baby

**Chapter 6: Love is crazy pretty baby**

He doesn't believe in marriage. Well, isn't that just great! I finally found someone who I think maybe could possibly be "the one" and he doesn't even believe in being "the one"! I knew there had to be some flaw about this man that I had not found, and now I knew what it was. After thinking for a good 2 minutes, I finally decided to speak.

"Why not?" that seemed to be the only question running through my head, so I decided to ask him flat out.

"Well I know that I once considered marriage, and it was just because I felt that was what I had to do. I don't want to feel like I have to do something, or have to be with someone, I want to be with them because I want to Bella, not because some piece of paper says I have to be with them." He said as he took my hand in his, I didn't know if I should leave it there or move it away quickly. If I move it, then he will know that I'm upset, well, clearly he knows I'm upset, but I guess I will leave it, for now.

"Bella?" he asked me during my long thought process. I quickly looked up at him and responded.

"I just don't understand why you wouldn't want to get married, I mean, if you find a person that you know you want to spend the rest of your life with, why not let it be known to the world. I mean do you not want children? Do you not want to grow old with someone? Aren't your parents happily married? I just don't understand." I said as I placed my head in my hands.

"Yes I do want children, and yes I do want to grow old with someone, and yes, my parents have been happily married for 26 years, but they are one of the few cases that are actually still happy. I think it would mean more to be with someone because there is no one else you would rather be with, even though you could easily leave, you choose not to, and I think that means a lot." He said sincerely.

"Ok." I simply said back to him. Maybe he was right. Maybe it would mean more to be with each other because we really wanted to, not because we felt we had to. Besides, I had only been dating Edward officially for about 5 hours, and there is no reason to get so upset about something that may lead to nothing anyway, right? And why let that ruin what we may have? If we are meant to be with each other then we will be; married, or not.

"Ok?" he questioned as he held my arms.

"Ok." I said with a smile.

"I knew you were perfect for me, Bella." He said breathing hot on my lips that he was now passionately kissing. As long as he kept kissing me like this… marriage shmarriage!

We continued to kiss for about 10 minutes. I had never liked kissing this much before. It was now my absolute favorite thing to do. Edward made me feel like I was back in high school and it was amazing. I finally pulled away and had a great idea.

"So… how many girls have been in that hot tub of yours?" I asked inches away from his lips.

"Well none, yet…" he said as he stood up, pulling my hand to join him. We walked outside and onto his balcony towards the hot tub.

"Wait Bella, you don't have a swim suit."

"And this is a problem because…?"

"Well…I- you aren't going to? Really?" he said dumbfounded.

"Don't be silly Edward, I will just get in with my t-shirt and panties on." I said as I slid off the sweatpants. The t shirt still came down to my knees. I looked at Edward who seemed a little disappointed. It was so cute.

"Oh." He said as he took his shirt and pants off… leaving him with only boxers on. The sight was mouthwatering.

We both got into the hot tub and immediately began to kiss. I could never, _ever_ get enough of his kisses. After a few minutes of kissing, I straddled his lap, making him moan slightly. I was ever so pleased that I had this effect on him, but I did not want to take things too far too fast. I deepened the kiss, and he began to caress my right leg slowly up and down. My whole body felt like there was electricity running through. It had been a while since I had gotten this much action, sadly, and I did not want it to stop. I moved closer into him, and I could feel his excitement underneath me. His hands continued to move further up my leg, making me shiver. I finally decided it was time to pull away before I did something that I would regret later.

"Bella, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"Stop" I said as I placed my finger over his lips. "I think I was pushing it more than you were, and I'm sorry if I lead you on."

"I never want to do something that you don't want to do, but you just have this effect on me, and it's quite hard to resist." He said with a crooked smile.

"Oh trust me, Edward, you have the exact same effect on me." I said before placing a quick peck on his lips. We got out of the hot tub and ran inside, we forgot to bring a towel and it was absolutely freezing.

"Ok, I think I need to go put some dry clothes on, and then you need to take me home, if you don't mind… it's getting late." I said as I walked towards the bathroom.

"Do you really have to leave me?" he said sadly.

"Unfortunately, yes, you have to work tomorrow and I do not want to be a distraction. Plus me and Alice have a gig tomorrow, and it's been a while since we practiced." I had forgotten about our show until my reminder went off on my phone earlier today. We had only had a total of 3 gigs the entire month we had been here; I guess we got occupied with other things. Who would have known that Nashville would have so much to offer? I for one was definitely not complaining, and after last night, I had a feeling Alice didn't mind either.

I changed back into my clothes I had worn the previous day, and walked back into the living room. Edward was sitting on one of the barstools in the kitchen, playing with his phone.

"Ready, beautiful?" he asked me as he stood up.

"No," I said as I walked towards him, placing a tender kiss on his lips. "Now I'm ready." We made our way down to the garage hand in hand. I loved holding his hand; it made us feel bonded at all times. He once again opened my door for me, and quickly made it back around to the driver's side.

"So, what other gigs do you have this week?" he asked as he drove away from his building.

"Well I think we just have one tonight and then one on Thursday, and other than that I'm not sure."

"Well what are you doing Tuesday night? I get off on 3 on Tuesday and I'm off on Wednesday, so either one of those days I would love to spend with you." He said as he placed his hand on my thigh.

"Well, why not both?" I said eagerly. I wanted to spend as much time with his that I could, and I hoped that he felt the same way.

"I was actually going to ask you that, but I didn't want to seem pushy…. But sense you insist.." he said with that cute damn crooked grin of his.

"It's a date then." I said with a smile. We soon arrived back at my apartment, and it was time to say goodbye to Edward till Tuesday night. These three days were going to go by extremely slow and I was dreading it.

"Well, goodbye my Bella," He said as he placed his palm on my cheek, his finger brushed the bottom of my ear lobe and it sent shivers down my spine. He leaned towards me and whispered into my ear. "I will miss you, more than you can imagine."

"I think I have some idea." I whispered back. He placed a quick peck on my forehead, my absolute favorite, and ran around to open my door for me one last time that day.

"You know you really do not have to walk me all the way up my stairs, I'm a big girl, ya know."

"I know, but that just means I get to spend 3 more minutes with you." He said as he put his arm around my waist.

"Ok, Dr. Cullen, whatever you say." We made our way up the stairs and to my apartment door.

"I will pick you up at 7 on Tuesday, if that is ok with you."

"Sounds perfect," I said as I stood on my tip-toes to kiss his plump lips. He quickly pulled me back to him and deepened the kiss, making my knees weak. I finally pulled away, placing one last kiss on the side of his mouth. "Goodnight Edward." I said as I unlocked my door.

"Good night my Bella," He said before quickly turning around and walking down the stairs. It was hard for me to believe that we had only known each other for less than a month. I felt like I had known him for years, and I think that he felt the same way. He intoxicated me, and it was really truthfully scaring me. I had never even been in a serious relationship, I mean, not saying that we were serious, but hopefully it would one day lead to that, and I hoped that it would be soon. Throughout the day I had gotten used to the idea of not getting married. As long as I was with Edward and felt the way that I did now forever, I would be more than content with that.

Have you ever experienced something you wish you hadn't? Yeah? Well so have I, and at the top of my list is walking in on my roommate/best friend/sister having sex with her new boyfriend in our living room, on the couch, that I sit my ass on. Yes, I walked in on Alice and Jasper, and it will be scarred into my brain for eternity.

"Holy shit, Alice! You _do_ have a freaking **bed**room!" I screamed at my roommate as I entered our apartment. Jasper was laying butt naked on our couch, with Alice straddling him on top. Their clothes were thrown everywhere. I quickly covered my eyes with my hand.

"Oh God, Bella, I'm so sorry! I thought you wouldn't be back till later!" Alice frantically expressed.

"Well, apparently you forgot, but we have a gig tonight!" I said with my hand still covering my eyes.

"Shit! I did forget…. What time do we have to be there?"

"In an hour, so you should probably go shower." I said as I tried to walk towards my bedroom with my hand still covering my eyes. I made it to the hallway and ran into my bedroom. I tried my best to get the image I had just witnessed out of my head while I was getting ready, but it was difficult. About 10 minutes later, Alice knocked on my door.

"Bella?" she whispered through my shut door.

"Come in Al." I said as I applied some mascara.

"I'm an idiot." She said as she embraced me into a hug. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Its fine Alice, I just don't understand why you couldn't have gone to your bedroom, and don't you think you are moving a little fast? I mean you have only been together for a day, if yall are even officially together?" I rambled.

"I know Bella, I don't know why we didn't go to my bedroom, it just happen. Ya know? And I know you think I always move too fast with guys, but Jazz is different. And I know I always say they are different, but I really, really mean it this time Bella! He is the one, and I have never been so confident in myself as I am right now." Alice said with a gleam in her eye.

"Ok Al, I just don't want you to get hurt like you did all these other times, but it's your decision, and I trust you completely." I said as I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks Bells." She said with a smile. "So what happened with you and Dr. Cullen?"

"Well, we have officially been together for…" I glanced over at the clock and did the math in my head. "7 hours, and I couldn't be happier."

"This is perfect Bells! If I marry Jazz and you marry Edward we will officially be sisters for real, its fate!" Alice said with the biggest grin on her face. I decided to not tell her about the whole Edward not believing in marriage deal. Partially because I still sort of secretly hoped that he would change his mind, and it was too soon in my opinion to be talking about marriage anyway.

"Yeah, ok Alice. Go get ready please, we can't be late!" I dodged her comment and we both continued to get ready for our gig tonight. We were auditioning at a local bar to be the house band every Thursday and it would be really great if we could get it, it could be our big break. We arrived at the bar 5 minutes early. We made our way inside to find the manager.

"Ah, y'all must be Bella and Alice?" the tall dark and handsome man said from behind the bar.

"Yes, that's us!" Alice said as she stuck out her hand for him to shake.

"Well, I'm Jake, the owner. Nice to meet you both," He said as he shook her hand and then reached to shake mine. His hand was so warm, and big, it made me feel like a child shaking my dads' hand. "You can go back stage to warm up and get situated and I will let you know when you're up; it will be about 20 minutes."

"Ok, thank you, Jake." I said as we walked towards the stage in the front.

"Bella, that dude was _totally_ checking you out hardcore." Alice said as she placed her guitar down.

"Um no. He was probably just looking at my guitar or something." I replied as I opened my case. She rolled her eyes. Pssh. We warmed up a little and decided on what we were going to play tonight. This venue was pretty large, the stage area looked like it could hold at least 500 people, and there were probably already 250 out there, and it was only 8:30. Since it was a large venue and crowd, and it was a really important gig, we decided to go with our favorites. First, Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar. Second, Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood. And third, Feelings show, by Colbie Caillat. We had to do it all acoustic tonight, and then if the crowd liked us we get to come back Thursday night and play with the full house band, which would be amazing!

Jake came to let us know we were up in 5. I was surprisingly not nervous, and we made our way up on the stage. The crowd had grown to around 350 people, and I was pumped. We preformed our first song and the crowd loved it! Even though it isn't a recent song and not country, they still loved it, which made me very happy. When we finished all three songs the crowd went crazy and we were ecstatic!

"Wow you guys did great, really, really great!" Jake came over as soon as we stepped down from the stage. "You guys made the final cut. Thursday 3 bands will play and the crowd will decide who the winner is. The winner will be the leads for the house band for the next 6 months every Thursday through Saturday night. Be here at 9 and good luck!" Jake said with a wink as he walked away.

"That dude definitely wants to get in your pants." Alice nudged my side as we put our guitars back in our cases. I rolled my eyes at her. "You know it's true." She said as she slammed hers shut.

"Whatever, Al. Anyway, we did great tonight!" I said as I picked up my case and made my way out of the building back to our car.

"I know, I really hope we can get this job. I wonder how much it pays? I mean don't get me wrong, I love giving people makeovers for a living, but I would love to sleep in everyday." Alice said as she got into the car. We rode home talking about how much fun we had and how much we wanted this job. I'm sure it pays fairly well, and I would love to have some extra money. Miss Rachel had to cut my hours down and I was only working 3 days a week and the money was not flowing like it needed to. Alice and I had been waiting on this to happen to us for a long time, and I was so glad that it might finally be coming true.


	7. Chapter 7:Just Dance

**A/N: Ok, first off, thank you sooo much for all of the wonderful reviews! They seriously made my day. And also, thanks sooooooooooooooooo much to Red on the Head00… my wonderful Beta! You are the bomb dot com! Please review and let me know what y'all think… it really means a lot! And also be looking out for my other story, That's What You Get. I plan on updating soon!**

**Chapter 7- Just Dance**

The next day was Sunday and Alice, Rose and I laid around our apartment all day watching wedding shows on TV. Of course Rose and Alice were going on and on about the wedding in Mexico, and I was just trying my best to tune it out. I was more than happy for Rosalie and Emmett, but I hated planning things… not to mention thinking about weddings was currently not my favorite topic considering my amazingly perfect boyfriend doesn't believe in it. And to top it off we were going dress shopping all day tomorrow. Lovely.

The next day Rose and Alice drug me in and out of every dress shop in and around Nashville. I stopped counting how many shops we had been in when I got to 15. I was worn slap out and in a terrible mood, but Rose finally found "the one" and we also found our bridesmaid dresses. She decided her colors should be yellow and pink, I didn't care either way. Her dress was stunning and dramatic, just like Rosalie. The bridesmaids dresses were pretty too, I was just glad we finally found one and we could go home. I crashed as soon as we got back. Just looking forward to tomorrow when I could be with my Edward again.

I woke up early the next day and went into work. The shop was pretty slow and Jessica was being a bitch because her boyfriend broke up with her the night before and she wouldn't shut up about it. It was only 11 o' clock and I still had 6 hours to deal with her. I was not looking forward to it. People finally started to come in and that meant that Jess had to shut up for now. I was more than glad. I was busy with customers and I didn't notice when a little boy walked in by himself. He has a single red rose in his hand and he came up to the counter and handed me the flower.

"Excuse me miss." The boy who looked to be around four said to me peeking over the counter. "You're very pretty." He said shyly as he handed me the rose.

"Well thank you sweetie." I said as I accepted the rose. "Where is your mommy or daddy?"

"Mommy is outside talking to my doctor." He said quickly before turning around and running out of the door. I was a bit confused, but it did make my day a little bit better. I turned away from the door of the shop and started to clean the back counter.

"Excuse me miss." I turned around to see my Edward standing there with a yellow and a white rose in his hand. "You're very pretty." He said with that crooked grin.

"Edward! You bribed that little boy to do that? And I thought the whole time that it was all his doing." I said laughing.

"Well, him handing you the rose was actually his idea, I just told him what to say." He said with a wink. "That little boy is always in the emergency room with a broken bone, we have gotten pretty close." He said as he leaned on the counter. "Anyway, I was just on a quick break and thought I would come see my beautiful girlfriend hard at work."

"Well thank you. You definitely just made my day a whole lot better. Are we still on for tonight?" I said hopefully. "Of course, I will pick you up at 7. I was thinking of just ordering take out and chilling at my place, is that okay with you?" he asked with his emerald eyes.

"Sounds perfect," I said as I leaned across the counter to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"See you then Bella." He said right before he placed a peck on my forehead. Its amazing how one little thing can make a really shitty day turn into a great one in a matter of minutes.

Before I knew it the work day was over and I quickly headed home so that I could shower before Edward picked me up. He arrived a little early as usual and I was more than happy to see him again. It pretty much amazed me that I was crushing on him this bad. I mean, in a way it felt like I was back in high school, in deep puppy love. But it was different. I'm too old for puppy love, and this is way more than a crush.

We made small talk on the way over to his place, telling each other about our days and what his favorite incident of the day was. Today his favorite was a man that put a nail through the top of his thumb. The thought of it made me cringe.

Edward had ordered us Chinese take-out and we watched a movie while we ate and cuddled on the couch. After the movie was over we were thinking of things to do.

"Well we could get back in the hot tub." Edward said with a grin.

"I just took a shower…." I said looking down.

"We could play Xbox!" Edward said excitedly.

"I would hate to embarrass you with my mad Xbox skills tonight Edward." I said as I climbed into his lap.

"Ok, well why don't we just talk then." Edward said as he placed a peck on my lips.

"Ok, what do you want to talk about babe?" I replied back with a peck on his lips.

"I actually wanted to ask you something." Edward said as he placed his hands on my hips. "I know that Thanksgiving is coming up, and I know that we have only been together for a few days, but I would really like for you to come to Thanksgiving with me and my family, if you don't have any other plans. I figured Jazz will ask Alice and I didn't think you would be going back to Washington, I mean if you are that's fi-"

"Edward I would love to spend Thanksgiving with you and your family." I said as I interrupted him.

"Great! My parents always come down here for Thanksgiving since all of their children live here. So you won't have to travel."

"Oh, ok. That's great! Do I need to bring anything?" I asked eagerly. I loved to cook.

"I'm not sure, I will ask mom. She is so excited about meeting you; it's all she ever talks about when I talk to her." He said shyly. I couldn't help but be touched that Edward had already told his parents about us, and apparently they talked about me a lot. I hadn't even told Charlie about Edward, mainly because Charlie specifically told me and Alice to not find boys down here and that was one of the first things that we did. But hey, you can't pass up fate when it happens, right?

We finished our night up with a mini make-out session like always, and Edward took me back to my apartment. I never wanted to quit kissing Edward, but I was glad that we were still taking it slow. I mean, technically we had only been together for 4 days but it felt like so much more. And yes, of course I wanted to have sex with him, but I did not want to rush. I had only been with one other person and I regretted giving that away to him, especially since we were only 15. Plus that was the last time I had had sex, and I'm sure I was a little rusty. I wanted everything between me and Edward to be perfect and whatever I could do to keep that going I would do without a doubt. I wanted both of us to be without a doubt in love with each other before we took that next step in our relationship, and that might not take as long as I originally thought, or maybe I was just being too hopeful. Whatever happens, happens when the time is right.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

It was finally Thursday and Alice and I had been practicing all day for our big show tonight. We were playing with the full band tonight, not just me and Alice on our guitars. We practiced with them yesterday and all in all everything went pretty well. My mind was running rampant about what could be to come for us if we actually got this job. This bar was one of the most popular ones in Nashville, and being the house band would be a pretty big deal.

"Ok Bella, I think we have practiced enough. Let's get something to eat with the boys before we go to the bar." Alice said as she stood up from the couch.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea, you call Jazz and I'll call Edward. And tell Jazz to call Rose and Em, I'm sure they will want to come along too." I replied as I also stood up. I was so glad that Edward had swapped shifts with someone at the hospital so that he was able to be here tonight. Even though he had to cancel our date yesterday, it was worth it for him to be here tonight. Him just being able to be there and support me really meant a lot, and I'm not sure I could do it if he wasn't there.

After confirming our plans, we made our way to the restaurant. It was Emmett's favorite… this small little hole in the wall bar-b-q joint, but it was fantastic and soon became all of our favorites. We quickly ate while enjoying small talk, and before we knew it, it was time for us to warm up.

"Good luck my Bella, I know that you will do fantastic." Edward breathed into my ear as he grabbed me by the waist as I was walking away. It made my knees weak. I quickly turned around and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips that he gladly returned.

"Thanks babe. See ya after." I said as I quickly make my way to the stage.

Alice and I were greeted by Jake.

"Hey ladies! Y'all are looking hot tonight!" Jake said as he gave Alice and me a look over. It kind of made me uncomfortable. "Y'all are up first for the night, so be sure to get the crowd good and into it because whoever the crowed votes for at the end is the house band." He said as he placed his hand on my back. "I really think you guys have a great chance, so good luck." He said with a smile as he walked away.

"Ok Ali… are you ready?" I asked as I looked back to my best friend who looked like she was about to throw up.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She replied with a sigh. We heard the announcer tell the crowd all of the rules for the contest and then he introduced us.

"And without further ado, please welcome Bella and Alice from Forks, Washington!" The announcer said as the crowd applauded. We made our way up the steps to the stage and were luckily blinded by bright lights. I was glad that the lights were so bright. Of course I hoped that there were tons of people here, but I didn't want to see them, it would just make me ten times more nervous. I stepped up to the mic. and began to speak as Ali was setting up our guitars.

"How is everyone doing tonight?" I asked excitedly into the microphone. The crowd responded back with hoops and hollers. "Well thank you all so much for coming out tonight to support us. I'm Bella and this is my best friend Alice. We come from a small town in Washington and moved to this great city a few months ago. Now feel free to sing along, dance, and have a great time. We hope you enjoy yourselves!" I concluded to the crowd and was given back more applause and screams. Alice immediately started to play the beginning of the first song. We decided to get the crowd going with "The way you love me" by Faith Hill. It was always a crowd favorite, and it reminded me of Edward, even though he wasn't loving me yet, but hopefully one day. The crowd was really getting into it and all the couples were dancing and singing along.

After we finished the crowd went wild. The next song we decided on was a little slower…"Home sweet Home" originally by Motley Crue, but the Carrie Underwood version. I absolutely love this song, my dad used to listen to the original song when I was younger and I have loved it ever since. I really liked the version Carrie did, and I thought the crowd might like it. Turns out they did! Everyone went crazy when we were done.

"Well guys, this is our last song for the night." Alice spoke into the mic. "Thank you so much for cheering us on tonight, and don't forget to put in a vote for us at the end of the night!" She concluded as she started to strum the opening chords of our last song. I slung off my guitar and took the mic in my hand. We decided on "Any way you want it" by Journey. It was always a crowd pleaser, and I was able to just sing on this one and dance around while the band was playing. I was having such a great time and was surprisingly not nervous about dancing and singing on stage. I started off dancing over by Ali and then making my way over to the other side of the stage by the electric guitar player, Angela, while she played the amazing solo. By the end of the song the crowd was jumping up and down and cheering us on. It was such a great feeling. I made my way back over to Ali and took her hand in mine as we bowed and the curtain closed.

Ali screamed into my ear and pulled me into a huge bear hug.

"Bella you were phenomenal! I mean wow! Where did you learn those moves!" she asked as she was still hugging me.

"I don't know, I just kind of let it flow!" I said as I hugged her back. "Now let's go find our boys!" We made our way down the stairs off the stage and I immediately spotted the group. Edward ran straight towards me and lifted me up.

"Baby that was amazing. I mean, I didn't know you could dance and sing like that!" Edward said as he swung me around in his arms. All I did was blush and kiss him on the cheek. He put my feet back on the ground and attacked my lips fiercely. I was a little shocked at first, but then I responded back with the same intensity.

"Bella, I don't think I have ever been so turned on in my life," he whispered huskily into my ear, and then kissed right underneath my earlobe that almost made me collapse.

"I say this calls for a round of drinks on me!" Emmett said as he patted me on the back, interrupting mine and Edward's moment.

"Yeah, sounds great Em." I replied with a smile and let go of Edward's embrace. I grabbed Edward's hand and led him through the crowd to the bar. We each got the drink that we wanted and luckily found an empty table big enough for the six of us. Edward's hand was somewhere on me at all times while we were sitting there listening to the other two bands and I had a really hard time focusing on anything but. A few people would come up to us and tell us how much they liked us and that they were voting for us. I was really flattered and was beginning to think that we had a good chance at winning. A few guys even came up and offered to by us some drinks, but Edward and Jasper quickly let them all know that they had our drinks for the night. I could tell Edward was getting a little agitated at all of the attention we were getting, but I thought it was cute. He was out of his mind if he ever once thought that I would leave him, a gorgeous doctor, for some low life at a bar.

We had each had a few drinks by the time the last band was finishing up, and I was getting really nervous. They had to take a 30 minute break so that they had time to count all of the votes and the DJ took over.

"Let's go dance baby, you look like you need to loosen up." Edward whispered into my ear as he pulled on my arm. I happily obliged. We danced for the remaining 30 minutes and I had forgotten what an amazing dancer Edward was. I mean, what was this man not good at? We were all having such a good time that I didn't even notice the 30 minutes were up. Jake made his way up to the stage to make the final announcement.

My stomach was in knots as he cleared his throat through the microphone in order to get everyone's attention.

"May I have yawls attention please? We have the results of our voting for the night, and I must say it was very, very close. The winner of our band contest and the new house band for the next 6 months is…"


End file.
